Rivers and Roads (Rivers Til I Reach You)
by Jack E. Peace
Summary: "You're my best friend too." Aubrey tells Chloe. "I've never…I've never had a friend before." She admits, ashamed of this fact. Chloe just smiles. "That's okay. Now you do." (AU)
1. The Sun is Up, the Sky is Blue

**Disclaimer: **Not mine. Title comes from the song of the same name by The Head and the Heart. Any references to other songs also don't belong to me. Or do they? No, they don't.

**A/N: **This story got way out of hand. My bad. There are probably going to be three different sections and I plan on putting them up relatively quickly so you don't have to wait with baited breath to see what happens next. That was a joke by the way. This story was inspired/requested by thefutillitarian and encouraged by the entire Sasshole Convention, so you can blame them for this madness. Hope you all enjoy!

**"The Sun is Up, the Sky is Blue. It's Beautiful and So Are You" **

Chloe Beale can't stop crying. She's tried, she really has. But it's no use. She alternates between hiccupping and sniffling and trying to calm herself down, only to dissolve into tears all over again. This has been going on all morning and it's only getting worse. Her parents have given up on trying to console her. Her mother has her arm resting on Chloe's knee but her touch isn't bringing any comfort to her daughter. Chloe sniffs and rubs her eyes with the heel of her hand, her bottom lip quivering. She glances out the window and sees a weathered sign that simply reads _Camp Twin Pines -1 Mile_. This sets her crying all over again.

"Chloe, please, it's okay." Samantha Beale says with a slightly pleading tone to her voice. No parent likes hearing their child cry but now it's just getting a little annoying. And yeah, she feels like a horrible mother for thinking this, but Chloe's waterworks are not a recent development, so she feels like she's entitled to be a little frustrated by this point. "It's just summer camp. You're going to have fun."

"N-no I w-won't!" Chloe manages to choke out around her tears, shaking her head. "Please don't make me go!"

Her father, James, sighs and shakes his head. "Chloe, you've got to stop this." He tries to make his voice as stern as possible, but it's never been a secret that his youngest daughter has him wrapped around his finger. "You make us sound like horrible parents."

"You are!" Chloe shouts, crossing her arms over her chest. "You're sending me away because you hate me! You're getting rid of me!"

Samantha rolls her eyes, glad that her daughter can't see her. No one can throw a temper tantrum like her eight-year-old. She's glad that these types of moods are few and far between with Chloe. "We're sending you to summer camp. Summer camp is fun. You're going to have a great time. You'll get to play outside and make new friends and learn to swim and learn…all about nature."

Chloe starts crying again in earnest. "I'll drown!" She wails like earlier in the year she wasn't begging for swim lessons so that she could join the swim team. "You hate me!"

James and Samantha just exchange a look at Chloe's latest comment. Samantha rolls her eyes again for good measure.

There are dozens of other cars pulled up outside the entrance of Camp Twin Pines when the Beales finally reach the camp. It looks like barely organized chaos with all the children running all over the place, some reuniting with old friends or talking to the counselors or with their parents. A few kids are just running around hitting each other with sticks and weaving in and out of the parked cars and groups of people. Samantha feels bad for the older counselors who are trying to organize everyone and check the campers in.

Chloe refuses to get out of the car and continues crying when her father reaches across her lap to undo her seatbelt and pull her out of the car. Samantha feels her cheeks redden with embarrassment when Chloe falls to the ground outside of the car, crying like she's suffering some sort of physical pain. There are a few other kids clinging to their parents or making a scene, but that doesn't make Samantha feel any less embarrassed.

Samantha grabs Chloe's hands and yanks her to her feet. "Chloe, get control of yourself. It's just two months. It's a summer camp, not an internment camp. Stop crying right now."

But, of course, the phrase 'stop crying' just seems to make Chloe cry even harder. "I don't want to go!" She wails. "Don't make me go! I'll miss you too much!" She throws her arms around her mother's waist.

Samantha looks over at her husband and mentally swears. She knows that look on his face. It's the face James always gets when he's going to give Chloe what she wants. If James had his way, they'd be back in the car and heading back home in the next ten seconds. Not on her watch.

Samantha pulls Chloe off her and holds her at arm's length. "Chloe, you're going to be fine." She says firmly. "You're going to love camp. This is exactly what you need. It's for you own good."

But Chloe just keeps crying like her world is coming to an end around her.

Of course, Chloe has no way of knowing that at least one other new camper is receiving that very same piece of advice. Two cars down from where the Beales are currently struggling to calm down their overdramatic daughter, Aubrey Posen is hearing those same words come out of her father's mouth.

"This will be a chance for you to interact with children your own age." Marc Posen says as he gets Aubrey's suitcase out of the trunk. "Make some friends. Have normal interactions. It's for your own good."

Of course, there are no tears on Aubrey Posen's part. She just nods solemnly, accepting her father's words as truth. Yes, she is abnormal. Yes, she needs to learn how to interact in an acceptable way with her peer group so that maybe she won't be the outcast when she goes back to school in fall. Still, the idea of having to spend two months away at camp, being forced to be around children her own age….it's a conundrum in Aubrey's point of view.

But she's not going to argue with her father. If he feels like attending summer camp is a good idea, than that is what Aubrey will do. Marc leaves to find a counselor so he can check her in and Aubrey remains by the car, one hand on the handle of her suitcase, her eyes taking in the children around her. They're all roughhousing and running around and there is so much noise because everyone is desperately trying to be heard. Aubrey can already tell that she's not going to have anything in common with these kids. She's not loud, she doesn't know how to play pretend, she's not good at sports or silliness. She likes things nice, quiet and orderly. Everything here is the opposite of those things.

"Chloe!" Aubrey turns her head in the direction of the shout. Even the parents are loud here. "You need to pull yourself together!"

Aubrey stares at the redheaded girl, who is currently hanging limply from her mother's arms as she cries and cries. She's never seen such a public display of emotion before. It makes her a little embarrassed for this girl. Aubrey knows that her parents would never let her get away with doing something like that, no matter how upset she was.

The girl's mother finally just drops her back to the ground and shakes her head, walking away to register her daughter and ignoring her as she cries. Aubrey feels like that behavior is definitely more suited for something she would see out of her father. Seconds later, Marc walks back over to where Aubrey is standing and hands her a name tag. Someone has already taken the time to write _Hello my name is: Aubrey Posen. I'm 8 and I'm in Cabin 3_ across the white space. "They said you need to wear this." He informs her. "Your mother and I will be back to pick you up in two months. I expect to hear nothing but a positive report from your counselors."

Aubrey nods. "Yes, sir." She peels the nametag off and carefully smoothes it across her shirt. She feels stupid having to wear this tag but if it's part of the rules, then she'll do it. "Bye." She waves to her father as he gets back behind the driver's seat of his car. She figures that he's too busy paying attention to everything going on around them to wave back.

Now Aubrey doesn't know what to do. She feels awkward and out of place just standing here beside her suitcase but she doesn't want to join in with the other kids playing and she doesn't know anyone. She also doesn't know how to get to cabin three, otherwise she would just stay there until someone came looking for her.

Instead of trying to find it on her own (getting lost and taking up valuable time by requiring a rescue effort is not something her father would consider to be a 'positive report'), Aubrey turns her attention back to the crying girl. Her tears have tapered off a bit now that her father is kneeling down beside her, rubbing his hand down her back and saying what Aubrey assumes are comforting words. The little girl's suitcase is open at her feet and she's holding a raggedy looking dog to her chest. Aubrey can see her shoulders hitch every so often as she tries to get herself to calm down.

The girl's mother returns and gives her a nametag like the one that Aubrey is currently wearing. The girl starts crying again as her parents give her goodbye-hugs and kisses but she doesn't do anything outrageously dramatic like try and get in the car or stop them from going. For some reason, this is a relief to Aubrey. No one else is watching the exchange, but she's still glad that the girl doesn't further embarrass herself by doing something drastic.

The girl just stands their holding her dog, glancing around and looking just as uncertain and unsure as Aubrey feels. What Aubrey does next is most uncharacteristic. She doesn't have much interest in making friends or being emphatic to kids her own age or joining in with their games or making them like her. But she picks up her suitcase and walks over to the girl anyway, though she's not entirely sure of what she's going to say when she gets there.

When Aubrey walks over, the redheaded girl sniffs and gives her a curious look. Aubrey stares back at her, really wishing that she would say something first so that _she_ wouldn't have to be the one to say something.

Because when Aubrey is forced to be the one to initiate the conversation, what comes out is, "Why are you crying?"

This question seems to throw the girl for a loop. "I…I'm going to miss my mom and dad." She sniffs and wipes her nose with the back of her hand. "Where's your mom?"

"At home." Aubrey answers simply, as though this is common sense. Her mother had work to do with a benefit that she is helping organize and it would have been selfish for Aubrey to expect her to stop what she was doing just so she could take her to camp. Aubrey already feels bad enough that her father had to put his plans on hold in order to drive her up here.

"Don't you miss them?" The girl questions, looking at Aubrey curiously. Aubrey thinks this question over before shaking her head. "You're brave. I miss them already." Her eyes get watery again.

Aubrey is not sure how she's going to handle things if this girl starts to cry all over again. It seems insensitive to just walk away and leave her in the middle of her breakdown but Aubrey doesn't know a better way to deal with someone's tears. Her parents discourage any sort of overly emotional reaction, especially when it comes to crying. They haven't exactly equipped her with the tools necessary to help someone in need of a little emotional support.

"My name is Aubrey." The tow-headed child blurts out in an effort to avoid any sort of unnecessary breakdown on the other girl's part. She holds out her hand primly, waiting with the tiniest bit of impatience for her introduction to be reciprocated.

Sniffing, the redheaded girl just looks at her hand. "I'm Chloe." She doesn't shake her hand, wiping at her eyes instead. She looks at the nametag on Aubrey's shirt and then glances down at the one she's holding in her hand. "I'm in Cabin Three too!" She holds up the nametag as though Aubrey needs some kind of proof. "I think this means that we're going to be friends."

Aubrey isn't sure about that. She's never had a friend before, so she's not exactly sure how someone becomes friends in the first place. But maybe it does just come down to being assigned to the same cabin as a lonely and anxious redheaded girl.

Each cabin is assigned a counselor, who is then instructed to herd his or her charges to their respective bunks before regrouping with the rest of the campers for the annual "Welcome to Camp Twin Pines" ceremony. The counselor assigned to Cabin Three is a sharp-faced teenager named Alice who doesn't seem particularly friendly or welcoming to the six girls that she's been put in charge of. She doesn't lead them in any camp songs or try to get to know the girls as they walk across the grounds to their cabin and there's a definite lack of enthusiasm among her group. Chloe sticks close to Aubrey, holding her stuffed dog under one arm as she drags her suitcase along behind her with the other. Maybe this isn't going to be so bad after all. She's already made a friend (she thinks), so maybe this camp thing is going to turn out okay after all.

For the rest of the day, Chloe is too busy to think about her parents or to miss home. After the opening ceremonies, they're shuffled around to all different kinds of activities, like volleyball and lanyard making and a nature scavenger hunt. Chloe insists that Aubrey be her partner during the scavenger hunt and is impressed when Aubrey seems to know so much about the local flora and fauna that they're supposed to be searching for.

After dinner the whole camp sits around the biggest campfire that Chloe has ever seen and the kids who have been there before lead the rest of the group in singing campfire songs or telling stories. The stories, thankfully, are not scary; Chloe isn't sure that she could deal with thinking about scary stories while she's trying to sleep in the middle of the woods in an unfamiliar place.

But, in spite of the fact that the stories weren't scary and despite Alice's bored _there's nothing to be scared of, nighttime noises are normal, I'm right here if you need me_ speech right before lights out, Chloe still finds herself unable to fall asleep. She's on the bottom bunk with Aubrey right above her and she has her stuffed dog clutched tightly to her chest and can hear the sounds of the other girls around her starting to drift off to sleep but none of that makes Chloe feel any better. Because she can also hear sounds coming from outside. Those nighttime sounds that Alice was talking about don't sound all that normal. There are birds and rustling and the wind hissing against the sides of the cabin and other sounds that Chloe can't identify and that sound completely terrifying. Like some bear or monster or werewolf is seconds away from charging through the cabin door and eating all of them.

This is nothing like being at home. She misses her mom coming into her room and tucking her in and she misses her dad telling her a bedtime story and she misses her cat, Winchester, sleeping at the bottom of her bed. She even misses being teased by her older sister. Chloe's eyes start to fill with tears all over again and she pulls the blankets up to her chin, feeling alone and scared and she doesn't like camp so much anymore.

Chloe starts crying and within seconds, Alice clicks on the lamp beside her bed and some of the other girls groan and roll over. Alice sits up, looking annoyed as she glances around the cabin. "Who's crying? What's the matter?"

Under the mistaken idea that Alice will be her surrogate mother for the next two months, Chloe sits up and gives the older woman an entreating look. "I want to go home." She says softly.

However, Alice is more interested in getting the cabin quiet so she can go back to sleep than actually offering Chloe any sort of comfort. "You can't go home right now. Everything will be fine. You'll feel better in the morning, okay? Just go to sleep." Her tone is laced with exasperation. "Okay?"

Chloe sniffs and presses her face against her stuffed dog. "I can't sleep. I miss my mom. I want to call her."

Alice rolls her eyes. "You're _fine_. Just lay there until you fall asleep. Tomorrow you'll forget all about this and you'll be fine." Clearly, Alice is from the tough love school of thought.

As she listens to Alice snapping at Chloe, Aubrey can't help but think that Alice and her father would get along really well. She's heard statements a lot like that one come from her father whenever Aubrey came to him with a nightmare or nighttime fears. Aubrey sits up in her bed as she listens to Chloe sniffing and whimpering below her. The noises sound even more pitiful when Alice turns off the lights and instructs the other girls to go back to sleep.

Aubrey hesitates for a minute before quietly getting out of her bed and feeling her way down the ladder to the floor below. The bed creaks but Alice doesn't turn the light on again, so Aubrey figures that she's not attracting the attention of her cabin-mates.

Chloe looks over at Aubrey as she comes down the ladder and wordlessly pats the space on the mattress beside her. Aubrey hesitates and then sits down next to Chloe. They're small enough to fit comfortably on the bed and Chloe pulls the covers up around both of them so it's like they're in their own personal tent.

"What's wrong?" Aubrey questions softly so that Alice won't overhear them and just make things worse.

"I want to go home." Chloe's voice wobbles and a tear drops onto her cheek. "I want my dad. I wish I was in my bed. It's scary here."

Aubrey shakes her head. "It's not scary." She assures Chloe. "You're just not used to those noises outside. But there's nothing to be afraid of. Typically forest animals are more afraid of people than we are of them and they try to stay away from people. I'm sure everything in this camp is safe and secure and the lights that are on outside will deter animals from coming too close." Yeah, she might have watched a Discovery Channel show or two about Yellowstone National Park after her father told her that she was going to be attending a summer camp. And while Yellowstone isn't exactly Twin Pines Camp, she figures that a lot of the same ideas still apply in this situation.

Chloe looks at her with wide eyes. "How do you know so much stuff?" Aubrey shrugs. "So there are no bears outside?"

Aubrey shakes her head. "No, of course not." She assures Chloe.

Chloe purses her lips thoughtfully, considering the information that Aubrey has just given her. "What about werewolves?"

"Werewolves are not real." Aubrey points out in a dismissive tone. "It's silly to be afraid of things that aren't real." Something else that she learned from her father. There are plenty of real world things to be afraid of, so why does she need to waste her time inventing things?

Chloe nods. Of course she knows this. It's just harder to remember this information when it's dark outside and she's away from home. "Do you want…stay? Just in case? Like a sleepover?"

"Only babies are afraid to sleep alone." Aubrey tells her frankly.

Chloe feels her eyes prick with tears again and she struggles to keep from crying all over again. "Oh."

Instantly, Aubrey feels worse than she's ever felt in her entire life. She feels like the kids in her school that always tease her; she feels like her older brother who constantly tells her that she's never going to be good enough; she feels like her father when he said those words to her the first time she crept into his bedroom after a nightmare and wanted him to chase the monsters away from her memories. She's been under the mistaken idea that doing those things, that making someone else feel sad and alone made you feel better. Why else would those kids and Brad love teasing her so much? But Aubrey doesn't like this feeling at all.

"I can stay." Aubrey says softly and Chloe looks at her hopefully. "Just like a sleepover." Not that she's ever had a sleepover, but Chloe seems like she could be an authority on the subject.

Chloe offers her a shaky smile and nods. "Okay." She lays her stuffed dog in between them so that Aubrey will know that she can pet him if she starts to feel scared. Not that Aubrey seems like the type of person to get scared. But just in case.

Chloe starts to feel better, she even starts to feel tired…until the wind knocks a low hanging branch against the outside window and she feels like she's going to jump out of her skin. She feels like she's suddenly hyperaware of all the sounds going on outside again; every tiny creak or crack sounds like something or someone lurking just outside the door. Every noise could be the sound of some horrible monster looking for little redheaded girls to eat.

"Aubrey?" Chloe says softly, feeling relieved when the other girl's eyes open. "I still can't sleep. I'm still…" She can't bring herself to say the words because it feels too childish to admit that she's still afraid.

Aubrey isn't quite sure what to do in this situation. She tries to think back to the nights when she's been too afraid or stressed or anxious to sleep. She always hums quietly to herself until the darkness doesn't seem so dark and her fears don't seem quite so real.

"Do you like to sing?" Aubrey questions, feeling a sudden burst of inspiration. Chloe nods, a little smile playing on the corners of her lips. "Sometimes I like to sing to make myself feel better." She's never admitted this out loud to anyone before.

Chloe nods. "Okay."

It takes Aubrey a minute to realize that Chloe is expecting _her _to sing. Which wasn't exactly what Aubrey had been expecting when she passed on this little piece of advice to her new friend. She's never sang in front of anyone before; it seems like her private secret, a part of herself that no one else knows exists. Except for Chloe.

Aubrey opens her mouth to refuse to sing, to tell Chloe that if she wants this little trick to work she has to sing to herself. But instead, Aubrey finds herself singing softly, barely loud enough to be heard but the words hang between them anyway, trapped under the blankets on Chloe's bed, like the fabric is still protecting her secret. She sings the first song the comes to mind, one of the songs that Brad listens to when he thinks that no one else is around. Brad's only act of rebellion in his fourteen years of life has been to listen to old music that their parents consider "tasteless" and nothing more than noise. The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Styx, Journey. Bands that most people would consider classics but the Posens just consider racket. Aubrey's only act of rebellion in her eight years of life is to listen to this music through her brother's closed bedroom door and mouth the words along silently to herself as the CD spins. Singing the words out loud for the first time makes Aubrey feel happy in a way that just listening never could.

"_The wind is low, the birds will sing that you are part of everything. Dear Prudence, won't you open up your eyes_?" Aubrey sings softly and Chloe is finally able to fall asleep.

* * *

From that moment on, it becomes rare to see Chloe without Aubrey or Aubrey without Chloe. Aubrey has never had a friend before, let alone a best friend, but thinks that it's certainly nice. She feels woefully unprepared to navigate the intricacies of friendship but Chloe is quick to teach her all the things that she needs to know, like the importance of having a secret handshake and code words so that no one else can understand them. She also teaches Aubrey a series of complicated rhythmic clapping games and the songs that go along with them and Aubrey is quick to pick them up and they start to invent their own. Chloe quickly adjusts to life away from home now that she has Aubrey and Aubrey quickly stops resenting her father for sending her to camp because she's not normal now that she has Chloe. The other campers quickly group themselves off into cliques and pairings as well but those groups are constantly rearranging themselves and someone is always mad at someone else for various idiotic reasons. But Chloe and Aubrey remain as thick as thieves as the weeks slowly pass by.

One of the selling points of the camp is the large lake on the property, which is always abuzz with activity, especially as the summer days get hotter and more sweltering. Swimming and canoeing are always popular activities and even though Aubrey isn't a huge fan of any type of water activity, she always lets Chloe drag her to the lake. Chloe has been perfecting her swimming abilities over the past few weeks and she's taken to being in the water like a duck. It's not that Aubrey can't swim, it's just that she doesn't want to. Especially not in some dirty and disgusting lake. There's no telling what lives in that water or what sort of bacteria and diseases are found there. She prefers to stay on the dock and offer Chloe advice and encouragement from dry land.

In spite of the encouragement from the counselors and the teasing of some of the other campers, Aubrey has yet to put so much as a toe into the water. The teasing she can handle, as it is nothing new. The counselors are just as easy to ignore because Aubrey feels like her father wouldn't consider her refusal to get into the water as misbehaving or not acting normal, especially if he knew how gross the water surely is. So Aubrey just sits on the dock and keeps Chloe's towel from getting wet or snatched up by another kid and Chloe swims around and it works out pretty well for both of them.

Unfortunately, there are several the older kids who seem to find it personally offensive that Aubrey has decided not to swim this summer. Aubrey doesn't feel too special because she's seen this same group of boys torment a variety of campers for a variety of different reasons and Aubrey has more important things to do than pay attention to them. So when Andrew Doyle and his gaggle of fellow ten-year-olds come sauntering up one afternoon, Aubrey continues what she's doing. Which is, namely, ignoring them.

"Only babies are afraid of swimming." Andrew taunts, nudging Aubrey with his foot. "I guess you're a baby." He laughs and his friends join in.

Aubrey rolls her eyes. She's been hoping that over the past few weeks that he would have been able to come up with some new material but so far that hasn't happened.

"I'm not afraid of swimming." Aubrey informs him frankly. "I'm afraid of all the diseases that are typically found in lake water."

Chloe swims over to the edge of the dock when she sees Andrew and his friends forming a semi-circle around Aubrey. These guys are definitely the only thing she can't stand about Camp Twin Pines. She's going to recommend to the counselors that they're not allowed to come back next year.

"Go away." Chloe says, splashing Andrew and his friends with water. "No one wants you here." She puts her elbows up on the edge of the dock and starts pulling herself out of the water.

Andrew looks down at his wet shorts and shirt and glares at Chloe. "No one wants _you_ here. Everyone knows gingers have no souls." He pushes Chloe back into the water right as she starts to climb out onto the dock.

Aubrey jumps to her feet, balling her hands into fists and glaring at Andrew. "You're nothing but a bully. You better apologize to her right now!" She demands, crossing her arms over her chest.

Andrew laughs and shakes her head. "I'm not apologizing to her. She's a freak. You're both freaks." His friends start laughing as well at this most recent witticism.

Aubrey huffs out a breath and she uncrosses her arms, holding up her fists like it's taking everything in her power to not hit Andrew in the chest. Which, of course, it is. This only makes Andrew and his friends laugh harder and Aubrey does the first thing that comes to her mind: she shoves him as hard as she can. Andrew's eyes go wide as he looses his balance, his arms pin wheeling comically as he tries to regain his balance. Unfortunately it's too late and as he starts to fall backward he grabs onto Aubrey and they both go into the water.

When she surfaces, Aubrey spits out a mouthful of water and she's pretty sure that she's never felt more disgusting in her entire life. Andrew surfaces just inches away from her, a murderous expression on his face. "You pushed me in!"

"You deserved it." Aubrey says haughtily and splashes him once more for good measure before she starts swimming back to the dock.

Chloe helps her onto the dock, a grin spreading across her face. "That was awesome. He's such a jerk." She takes her towel and puts it around Aubrey's shoulders. "Sorry he made you fall in too."

Aubrey grimaces and wipes her face with the towel. Chloe notices that her face is unusually pale and her eyes are wide with worry. "I swallowed some of the water. Am I going to be okay?" She frets.

Chloe grins and nods. This is quite the role reversal. "Of course. I accidently drink the water all the time. You'll be fine." She assures her friend. Aubrey doesn't look all that convinced but she nods anyway, pulling the towel tighter around her shoulders. "Let's go get some ice cream." Chloe suggests, taking Aubrey's hand and leading her away from the lake.

Aubrey's unplanned dip in the lake doesn't change her opinions on swimming but it does keep Andrew and his friends from bothering them anymore, which is a win in Chloe's book.

* * *

And then, all of the sudden, it's all over. Two months have passed in what feels like the blink of an eye. Chloe can no longer remember the desperation she felt as her parents were driving her to camp; she no longer remembers begging her parents not to leave her behind. It no longer feels like two months is a lifetime; now she wishes that she could stay. Because leaving camp means leaving Aubrey and that thought makes Chloe want to cry and throw a temper tantrum much like the one that she barely remembers throwing two months before.

On the last night of camp, there's a big closing ceremony and a bonfire to rival the one from the first night. Everyone seems to be suffering from the same melancholy that Aubrey and Chloe are feeling and Aubrey is pretty sure that she's never seen so much hugging before in her life. At the bonfire, all the counselors talk about their campers and the memories they made and what they're always going to remember about this summer and some of the campers also share their favorite memories and they sing camp songs and tell jokes but the joviality does little to hide the underlying feelings of sadness.

But there's also s'mores, which manages to perk Chloe up a little bit. She loves s'mores and she really wants to know why these treats have been kept from them until now. It just doesn't seem fair.

Aubrey doesn't look like she's entirely down with the idea of finding a stick in the woods and sticking a marshmallow on it and then eating said marshmallow. "That's part of making s'mores." Chloe assures her friend as she picks up their sticks. "That's what you're supposed to do." Sometimes she and her dad make s'mores in the backyard over the charcoal grill and he's told her the same thing.

Even though Aubrey doesn't look entirely convinced, she takes the stick that Chloe hands her and puts her marshmallow on the end. She watches the other kids to gauge the best way to toast her marshmallow; she doesn't want to end up with a charred and disgustingly burnt marshmallow on the very first s'more that she's ever had in her life.

But Chloe doesn't seem to care so much about technique. She just thrusts her stick into the flames and impatiently waits for it to get melty enough for her to shove between her chocolate and graham crackers.

"It's going to burn if you're not careful." Aubrey remarks.

Chloe shakes her head. "No, it'll be fine." She assures Aubrey. "I do this all the time." Of course, her dad is usually there to help her but she's seen him do it enough times.

Aubrey shrugs and just goes back to turning her marshmallow so that all sides are equally toasted and the outside is evenly burned. Not ten seconds later, Chloe's marshmallow starts melting and oozing off the end of the stick, falling to the ground amidst the firewood and embers. Chloe purses her lips and stares at her charring marshmallow. The counselors had warned them about letting their marshmallows burn or get ruined because there was only enough for each camper to have one s'more and now she doesn't get hers because it's melted and maybe it's the disappointment she feels at this being the last day of camp and the sadness she feels about having to leave Aubrey but she really wants to cry right now.

"That's okay Chlo." Aubrey says quickly, taking her own marshmallow out of the fire and squishing it between the cookies and chocolate. "Look, you can have mine." She tries to hand the s'more to Chloe.

But Chloe just shakes her head. "No, that's okay. It's yours." She tosses her stick in the fire and digs the toe of her shoe into the dirt.

Aubrey looks at her s'more, which does look pretty delicious if you ask her, and then back at Chloe. Her curiosity over trying the traditional campfire snack is not as strong as the desire she feels to make Chloe smile.

"I don't want it." She assures Chloe, trying to hand it over again. "It's too messy."

Chloe gives her a doubtful look. "Really?" Aubrey nods and Chloe smiles and takes the snack from Aubrey. "Thanks." She looks so happy as she takes a bite that Aubrey doesn't even feel like she's missing out.

They sit quietly for a few minutes, half-listening to the stories and the songs going on around them, half lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Chloe looks over at Aubrey and smiles. "You're the best friend I've ever had." She tells her frankly, a smile on her face.

Aubrey isn't quite sure how to describe the way that she feels. It's unusual, like a warm pressure building in her chest and expanding until she feels like she won't be able to contain it. She smiles but that still doesn't seem like enough. "You're my best friend too." She tells Chloe. "I've never…I've never had a friend before." She admits, ashamed of this fact.

Chloe just smiles. "That's okay. Now you do."

"I don't want to go home tomorrow." Aubrey tells Chloe. "I'm going to miss you."

"I don't want to go either." Chloe assures Aubrey and that need to cry is suddenly back. "But we can write to each other." She brightens a little bit at that idea. "We'll write to each other all the time and maybe my mom will drive me to your house and we can have a sleepover. And then next year we can come back to camp."

Aubrey smiles and nods, even though she already thinks that writing is not the same as seeing Chloe and she doubts that her parents will let Chloe come over to her house for a sleepover or agree to drive her to Chloe's, which is several hours from where she lives.

"Okay. That's what we'll do." Aubrey agrees and Chloe smiles wider and maybe it won't be so bad after all.

The following morning, Chloe and Aubrey carefully write down their home addresses and Aubrey folds up the paper with Chloe's address and slips it into her back pocket so that it doesn't get lost. Chloe's parents arrive before Aubrey's and when it comes time for Chloe to actually get into the car and leave, she starts crying and clings onto Aubrey like letting go is absolutely unthinkable. Samantha Beale is not amused that she's having to pick up her daughter the same way that she dropped her off, though she's not at all surprised that Chloe is reluctant to leave her new friend. Chloe always forms attachments quickly and deeply and this is clearly no exception.

But Chloe's tears are not as hysterical and loud as they were on the way to camp. She just sits in the backseat and cries quietly to herself and holds her stuffed dog to her chest and doesn't say much when her parents try to cajole her out of her mood.

"See, I told you that you were going to have fun at camp and make friends." Samantha says with a smile as she pats Chloe sympathetically on the shoulder. "Does this mean that you want to go back next year?"

Chloe nods vehemently. "Yes, I have to go back next year." She informs her mother. "Aubrey is going to be there too. We're going to write each other every day."

Samantha smiles and nods and she's glad that Chloe has at least stopped crying for the time being. And she really hopes that Chloe and this girl do manage to keep in touch because she's not ready to have to explain to her daughter that sometimes friends lose touch and friendships fall apart. She just wants Chloe to be happy. Is that really too much to ask?

Aubrey and her father don't talk much during the drive back to the Posen household. But Aubrey doesn't really expect them to because her father often has important things on his mind and cannot be bothered with frivolous conversation.

As they turn into their neighborhood, Marc glances at his daughter in the rearview mirror. "Did you enjoy yourself?" He questions.

Aubrey smiles and nods. "Yes sir, very much." She assures him. "I would like to go back next year. I made a friend and she's going to go back next year."

Marc smiles a little bit and nods. "Well, I'm sure that we can work that out."

Aubrey takes her suitcase up to her bedroom but instead of unpacking immediately like her parents would want her to do, she sits down at her desk and takes out a sheet of notebook paper. _Dear Chloe_, she writes in her nicest handwriting, _my dad said that I can come back to camp next year_.

* * *

In the months that follow, Aubrey and Chloe exchange letters with a regularity that impresses Samantha. She's never seen her child express this much dedication to something that wasn't singing or dancing and it makes her smile whenever she sees Chloe sitting at the dining room table dutifully writing another letter to Aubrey.

When it finally becomes time to return to Camp Twin Pines, Chloe can barely contain her energy. It's impossible for her to sit still during the drive and as soon as they pull onto the camp grounds, she presses her face against the window and eagerly scans the gathering crowd of people for the only person that she really cares about seeing.

When Aubrey finally does arrive, Chloe throws her arms around her friend and holds her tightly that she worries she's going to choke the breath right out of her but she can't bring herself to let go. Aubrey smiles at her and returns her hug but there's something in her eyes that Chloe can't quite put her finger on but looks a little off. But slowly that look starts to vanish and Chloe doesn't bring it up and things go back to normal and it's like no time passed and they had never been separated.

This summer seems to pass by even quicker than the summer before and Aubrey slowly feels herself start to slip back into the unhappiness that plagued her in the weeks before coming to camp. On the afternoon before the closing night bonfire, Aubrey finds herself unable to keep her thoughts to herself anymore. "Chloe, I need to tell you something." She says, finding herself unable to look at her friend as they walk one of the nature trails near their cabin. "I'm not going to be able to come back to camp next year."

Chloe stops walking and looks at her friend. "What? Why?!"

Aubrey still can't bring herself to look at Chloe and see the disappointment in her eyes. "My dad is being transferred because of his job." She says. "We're moving to Pennsylvania."

"Pennsylvania!" Chloe says this like Aubrey just informed her that she moving to the moon. It might as well be the same thing. "You can't!"

Aubrey shrugs. "I have to." She mumbles. "It's for my dad's job. We have to go."

Chloe feels her bottom lip trembling and she looks away, trying to rapidly blink the tears out of her eyes. "It's okay." She says in a voice that sounds much more collected than she feels. "We'll still write to each other. And maybe I can come visit you."

Aubrey finally looks up. "Really?"

"Duh." Chloe nods, looking back at her friend. "We might not see each other at camp but we can still be friends." She assures Aubrey. "Best friends."

"Best friends." Aubrey repeats, savoring the sound of those words and the way they feel on her tongue. She hesitates for a minute and then throws her arms around Chloe, pulling her into a hug. "I wish I didn't have to go."

Chloe grabs onto her tightly. "I don't want you to go." It's a little harder to get rid of the tears in her eyes this time. "You have to promise to write."

"I will." Aubrey swears. "I'll send you my address as soon as I know it."

Chloe nods and tightens her grip on Aubrey. "Okay. It'll work out." Neither of them are too sure of that, however.

They don't bring up Aubrey's impending move again but it's hard to join in with the festivities of the closing ceremony camp fire. Neither one of them feel much like making s'mores and listening to campfire songs.

Chloe doesn't mention Aubrey's move to her parents when they pick her up from camp the following day. Samantha figures that the cause of her daughter's melancholy is having to leave her friend behind and doesn't bother to question her. She starts to get a little concerned when Chloe doesn't emerge from her funk in the days following her return home but Chloe doesn't seek her advice or council so Samantha doesn't pry.

Two weeks later when Samantha checks the mail and finds a letter from Aubrey with a Pennsylvania postmark, she's able to put the pieces together. Chloe perks up when her mother hands over the letter and disappears into her room to no doubt read the epistle and compose her response. She eventually brings the letter and her notebook back downstairs and sits at the kitchen table but the appearance of Chloe's older sister distracts her from her writing and she abandons the task for the time being.

The following afternoon, Samantha finds her daughter tearing through her room in a panic. She was walking by on her way to the laundry room when she saw clothes and stuffed animals flying through the air and now that she's standing in Chloe's doorway it looks like a tornado passed through her youngest daughter's room. "Chloe Beale! What are you doing!"

Chloe pauses in dumping out her desk drawer, looking over at her mother. "I can't find it! Have you seen Aubrey's letter?"

"Aubrey's letter?" Samantha's brow knits. "Didn't you have it downstairs?"

Chloe goes flying out of her room and races down the stairs and Samantha follows after her before she can make a mess of the kitchen as well. The kitchen table is clear and the letter is nowhere to be found. "Where did you last have it?" Samantha questions patiently, hoping to avoid the meltdown that she can sense is approaching.

"I guess right here." Chloe frets. "I have to find it Mom. It has her new address. I need to have it to write back to her!"

Samantha tries to pat her daughter on the shoulder but Chloe is off again, desperately searching the same places for the letter. "I'm sure it's around here somewhere."

The letter and, more importantly, the envelope never turns up. Samantha learns from her husband that he might have accidently tossed the envelope the previous night when he was cleaning up and it seems as though Aubrey's new Pennsylvania address is on its way to the city dump by now. Chloe frets over its loss for weeks and anxiously awaits another letter from Aubrey. She prays that her friend will send another letter even though she never got a reply to her first. But a letter never comes and Chloe eventually resigns herself to the fact that her link to Aubrey is gone forever.

_tbc. _


	2. Transatlanticism

**A/N: **I love you guys. Thanks!

**"Transatlanticism" **

In the years since she's left Georgia, Aubrey has thought about her home state a great deal. The move to Pennsylvania was the first of many and so Georgia has always felt more like home than any other place that she's lived. She's long since stopped caring when her parents tell her that they're moving yet again, following different job opportunities and reassignments. One place is the same as any other in Aubrey's opinion; a new school, a new bedroom, a new set of people who will ignore her. She's looking forward to being able to start college so that she can actually plant her roots somewhere for longer than twelve months. It'll be a nice change of pace.

Another unexpected, yet pleasant, change is when her father informs her that they'll be heading back to Georgia at the first of the year and she's going to be spending her winter break packing up her bedroom. That doesn't bother Aubrey in the least. For once, she's actually looking forward to moving. Even though she doubts that Georgia or anyone there will welcome her back with open arms, she still finds herself anticipating the move. Georgia feels familiar; it feels a little bit like home. And, at this point, Aubrey will take what she can get.

She's only one semester away from college. One of the positive things Aubrey can say about always moving around is that she's been able to focus more on her studies than her social life. Her transcripts are rich with AP classes and extra curricular activities and she is confident that she'll look like a poster child for academic success to any of the colleges that she applies to. And, most importantly, Aubrey actually enjoys all of the community service projects that she involves herself in. As soon as her room is unpacked and situated in Atlanta, she gets involved in a variety of service projects and spends her after-school hours working with children at battered women's shelters and helping raise money for Habitat for Humanity and MUST Ministries. It keeps her from focusing on the things that are missing from her life and how her attempts to make friends and connections and memories have all failed.

The months leading up to graduation pass quickly and Aubrey graduates from a high school that she spent five months in with a class of people who probably don't even know that she exists. She gets accepted into more than half of the colleges that she applies to but unfortunately her father's alma mater is not one of them, and most of the Ivy League schools that her brother was accepted into are missing too. Aubrey was not planning on this little set-back but she tries to remain positive and study her choices with a critical eye.

Aubrey hasn't planned on doing much over the summer aside from researching these institutions of higher learning and deciding which one is best suited for her and her academic prowess. She's also trying to decide which one will make her father the least disappointed in her. So Aubrey is a little surprised when the director of MUST Ministries approaches her one afternoon to see if she would be interested in taking a counselor position at one of the locally run summer camps. "They could use counselors with your responsibility and dedication." He tells her with a smile.

"I'm not sure if I'm the camp counselor type." Aubrey tells him. "I only went to summer camp like once or twice as a kid anyway."

"That's okay." He assures her. "I still think you'd be the right person for the job. All the kids here love you; you'd be a natural."

Aubrey thinks the proposition over, unsure if that's how she wants to spend her summer before college. "What camp is it?" Not that she knows one from the other.

"Camp Twin Pines." He replies. "It's in the North Georgia Mountains."

Aubrey feels a smile spread across her face before she even realizes it. Maybe this is some sort of sign from the universe. The two summers she spent at Camp Twin Pines remain some of her happiest childhood memories, mainly because of the singular friend that she made there. Sometimes she thinks about Chloe and those thoughts and memories always catch her by surprise. She wonders what her old friend is doing and if she ever thinks about her in the same way.

"Okay, I suppose I could give it a shot." Aubrey agrees. "Though I'm not promising I'll be good at it."

The director just gives her a patient smile. "You'll be good at it." He assures her. "You're good at everything."

Aubrey smiles but doesn't agree. Still, it's nice to hear someone say those words.

* * *

For the first time, the drive to Camp Twin Pines isn't full of awkward silence and unspoken sentences. Aubrey turns her radio up and sings along with all the songs that come on the radio, even the ones she doesn't really know, and puts her hair up in a ponytail and rolls the windows down. The early summer air is still free of the oppressive heat that will cling stubbornly to the daytime hours in a few weeks and she plans to enjoy it while it lasts. Aubrey doesn't know what's got her in such a good mood but she's not going to question it, seeing as it's the first time in weeks that she's actually felt happy and free of the dread that she's been carrying around with her since college acceptance letters started showing up. Maybe it's the prospect of spending two months away from her parents and their disapproving looks. Or maybe she's just channeling the way that she felt the last time she was headed toward Camp Twin Pines: enthusiastic and sure that everything was going to be great. At least for a little while.

The campers aren't set to arrive until the following day so that the counselors have the chance to get their cabin assignments and acquaint themselves with the grounds and the different programs. It seems like the majority of the counselors are already there and have already started clustering together into little groups, reuniting with old friends and bonding over old memories. This doesn't bother Aubrey because she's seen it over and over again. At every new school and in every new class. She's so used to being the odd person out that she can't even fathom would it would be like to fit in somewhere.

Instead she just walks past the chattering groups and toward the check-in table to receive her official counselors badge (which is really just one of those sticky name-tags with her name already written on the white space) and her packet of camp policies and activities. Aubrey looks at the list of campers that she's been assigned and finds that she's been given a group of eight-year-old girls, which seems oddly fitting in her opinion. She remembers Alice, her first camp counselor and how unpleasant the older girl was. She wonders, not for the first time, how Alice even ended up as a glorified babysitter for two months.

"Oh my God! Aubrey!" Aubrey barely has time to register that someone has called her name before she suddenly finds herself practically being tackled by a redheaded blur. She nearly loses her footing but manages to keep herself from toppling back into the registration table. Her arms are pinned to her side by this aggressive hugger so she can't return the hug or free herself and Aubrey's honestly not sure which she would rather do in this situation. "I can't believe it! Oh my God!"

When Aubrey is finally released from the crushing embrace, she can't believe it either. Because her assailant is none other than Chloe Beale. She feels a range of emotions course through her in rapid secession and it's almost too overwhelming to comprehend. She feels joy at being reunited with her childhood friend (and, to date, the only person who has ever called her a best friend before) and she feels the sting of the betrayal that came from losing touch with Chloe all those years before. She checked the mailbox everyday until they left Pennsylvania, hoping for a letter from Chloe, convinced that it was going to show up better late than never. She had been so sure that Chloe wouldn't just forget about her. But she'd eventually resigned herself to the fact that that's exactly what had happened. Chloe had gotten caught up in something else: another friend or something in her life had taken precedence. Something other than Aubrey.

And yet, here Chloe is now, holding onto her like almost no time has passed. Even though it's been nine years since she's last seen her, Aubrey knows that she would have recognized Chloe in an instant. There's something still so uniquely Chloe about her; sure she's taller and she's lost the little bit of baby fat she still had on her face but her eyes are still just as bright and her smile is just as vibrant. She's still so very Chloe.

Chloe's smile fades a little bit when she notices that her level of enthusiasm is going unmatched. "Oh my God please say you remember me. This is embarrassing." She can feel the tips of her ears getting hot.

"Of course I remember you!" Aubrey looks incredulous at the idea that someone like Chloe could have possibly slipped her mind. "I'm just...I can't believe that you're here."

"I can't believe _you're_ here." Chloe's smile returns in full force and she looks like she wants to pull Aubrey into another hug but she keeps her arms firmly at her side. "I thought you moved."

Aubrey nods. "I did." So clearly she didn't slip Chloe's mind completely. She wants to ask _why did you stop writing me_ but it seems ridiculous to worry about something that happened almost a decade ago. She's not a little kid anymore; she doesn't need a pen-pal. "We moved back in January."

"I just can't believe that you're here." Chloe says again and the happiness that Aubrey sees on her face almost makes Aubrey smile. Chloe reaches out and grabs Aubrey's hands, catching her by surprise. "Come on, let's take a walk. We have to catch up."

Aubrey hates herself for feeling bitter. She's gone through so many years of her life convincing herself that it doesn't matter that she doesn't have friends, that it doesn't matter that she's always the new girl or that she moves before she can even start to fit in and it doesn't matter that Chloe stopped writing her and it doesn't matter. But clearly it does matter, just a little bit.

"I can't right now." Aubrey says. "I have to get things ready for tomorrow." She holds up the counselor's packet like it will somehow lend credence to her story. Even though Chloe is a counselor as well and probably knows that there's not a lot that they have to prepare. "Maybe later?"

Aubrey smiles at Chloe and leaves before Chloe can protest or say anything more. She knows that she's being stupid, she really does. But it's probably better this way anyway. She didn't come here to make friends; she needs to focus on carrying out her responsibilities as a counselor and selecting a college to attend in the fall. She doesn't know where she's going to be in a few months or where Chloe is going to be for that matter so why worry about repairing her decade's old friendship? She was just a kid anyway, it's time to move on.

Aubrey manages to keep herself busy for the rest of the day familiarizing herself with the camp grounds and the schedule of events that are offered each day and she refreshes herself on various first aid procedures and what poisonous plants look like and how to treat poison ivy, oak and sumac. She even brushes up on how to identify various animal tracks so that she'll be a wealth of knowledge for her campers when they arrive tomorrow.

It comes as no surprise to Aubrey that she manages to work through dinner. This is a common occurrence, albeit an unintentional one and she knows first hand that it's possible for someone to survive on breakfast, lunch and PowerBars. She hasn't left Cabin Five since she unpacked her clothes and stashed her suitcase under the only non-bunk-bed in the room, content to let the day pass by outside. She's sure that there's some kind of counselor ice-breaker session that she should be attending but as far as Aubrey could tell, all the other counselors seem to know each other so she'll let them have their little powwow and she'll just work on turning herself into the best and most knowledgeable counselor Camp Twin Pines has ever seen.

Aubrey finally looks up from her _Worst Case Scenario_ handbook (hey, you never know) when someone knocks on the door. Chloe is leaning against the door frame with a hopeful smile on her face. When Aubrey doesn't immediately respond to her presence, she sings, "_Dear Prudence, won't you come out to play? Dear Prudence, greet the brand new day. The sun is up, the sky is blue, it's beautiful and so are you. Dear Prudence, won't you come out to play_?"

Aubrey can't help but smile. Chloe has a beautiful voice, light and lilting and perfectly fitting the smile on her face and the sparkle in her eyes. But more than that, Aubrey remembers singing that song to Chloe on their first night at camp ten years ago.

Chloe grins and pushes open the door, coming to sit on the edge of Aubrey's bed. "You turned me into a huge Beatles fan, by the way. But that song is definitely my favorite."

"Mine too." Aubrey admits. It's one of her go-to songs whenever she's feeling down or overwhelmed because, in her experience, it's nearly impossible to listen to that song without eventually smiling. Though, in this case, she feels like the smile has more to do with Chloe singing it to her than the actual lyrics.

"So, look," Chloe begins, her smile disappearing slightly, "you're mad, right? And I think I know why." Aubrey doesn't say anything; she's too ashamed to admit that she's actually upset over this, that it actually matters after all these years. "It's because I stopped writing and, okay, I totally get that and I feel really bad about that because I'm a horrible person and I lost your address and I suck." Chloe wrinkles her nose and looks at Aubrey hopefully. "And I'm sorry."

A missing address. Yes, that would make it difficult to write. Aubrey hates to admit that that's one scenario that she never considered. She's a little embarrassed to admit that her every scenario was self-deprecating and played into her father's and classmates' opinion of her.

Aubrey smiles and shakes her head. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be upset about it. It was just…" _Lonely_. She doubts that there's anything that could sound more pathetic than that single word. So she decides to leave that sentence unfinished.

"I totally understand. I hated not being able to write back. You were my best friend." Chloe assures Aubrey. "So, can you forgive me?"

Aubrey rolls her eyes but she can't seem to keep that smile off her face. "I suppose so. In the spirit of camp unity and all that."

Chloe grins at her. "I can live with that." She stands up and grabs Aubrey's hands, tugging her off the bed. "Come on. We still have a lot of catching up to do and I want ice cream."

"Hmm…it seems that that hasn't changed at least." Aubrey teases. "I seem to remember you thinking that ice cream was the answer to everything."

Chloe gives her a look. "Uh, it _is_ the answer to everything." She assures the blonde. "If you don't think so then there's something seriously wrong with you."

"Okay, okay, I'll take your word for it." Aubrey rolls her eyes as she follows Chloe out of the cabin and toward the mess hall.

"You'll see." Chloe assures her. "And then I can say _I told you so_ and that doesn't happen to me a lot. Most of the time people are telling me and I'm not listening."

Aubrey makes a thoughtful noise. "Why do I not find that hard to believe?" She muses and Chloe rolls her eyes.

Even though the camp has pretty much shut down for the night, Chloe pushes open the door to the mess hall without hesitation and leads the way back to the kitchen without flicking on the lights and attracting the attention of the more senior counselors who would probably not condone them raiding the kitchen. Once they're in the kitchen, Chloe turns on the lights and disappears into the huge walk in freezer, emerging seconds later with a tub of chocolate ice cream and another of vanilla. She retrieves two spoons and hands one to Aubrey.

"Why do I get the feeling that you've done this before?" Aubrey questions, arching an eyebrow.

Chloe shrugs and pulls the lid off one of the plastic tubs. "Oh, I dunno." She says innocently. "Consider it one of the perks of being a counselor."

Which prompts Chloe to launch into an explanation of how this is her second year actually being a counselor at Camp Twin Pines and how she spent most of her first year figuring out how to get into the kitchen to steal snacks for her campers in an attempt to bribe their obedience and affection. Of course she kept a lot of the good stuff for herself but they never found out so by the end of the summer she was the unanimous favorite. Aubrey also learns that Chloe continued to go to Camp Twin Pines until she was fourteen and was too old to continue to be a camper but "it was never the same without you there" and when she turned seventeen she signed up to be a counselor and the rest is, apparently, ice-cream-stealing-history.

Chloe manages to drag Aubrey's own history out of her in spite of Aubrey's attempts to refuse being the focus of the conversation. She tells Chloe briefly about the various places she's lived over the past nine years and how she's focused primarily on her academics in order to ensure that she can get into a good college, though that plan hasn't exactly gone off without a hitch. "My father wants me to go to law school." Aubrey tells her as she gets another spoonful of chocolate ice cream. "But that's not what I want to do."

Aubrey is surprised by those words. She's thought them but she's never dared to admit them out loud. She wants to take them back, to not give voice to the idea of doing something other than what her father wants to do. But it's too late now. The idea has already been planted.

Of course, Chloe has no idea the effect of that simple sentence. Instead she just questions, "So what do you want to do?" like it's completely normal for a child to want to go in a different direction than the one her parents have chosen for her. And, of course, to Chloe it is. But she's not a Posen.

Aubrey shakes her head and glances down at the table. "I don't know." She mumbles, suddenly desperate for a subject change. "So no one notices that someone's been eating the ice cream or taking stuff out of the kitchen?"

Chloe shrugs. "Maybe. But I'm too smooth to be caught." She winks at Aubrey. "And now you're my partner in crime." She holds up her spoon.

Aubrey clinks her spoon against Chloe's and smiles, shaking her head. "I'll say that you made me do it."

"Right. And I shoved the ice cream down your throat too? You don't seem to need any help eating that chocolate ice cream there." Chloe smirks.

Aubrey shrugs. "I didn't have dinner." She says defensively.

"Because you were hiding." Chloe points out, daring Aubrey to contradict her.

Which, of course, she does. "No, I wasn't hiding." She protests with a shake of her head.

"You were avoiding me." Chloe amends. Aubrey wrinkles her nose and just goes back to eating her ice cream. "Aren't you glad you aren't avoiding me anymore? Isn't this better?"

Aubrey looks at her and smiles. "Yeah. This is better."

* * *

The following morning, Aubrey barely has the chance to stop and talk to Chloe for longer than sixty seconds because the first campers start showing up at nine o'clock on the dot and it only gets more chaotic from there. Chloe also has a cabin full of eight-year-olds so they decide that, in order to make things easier on themselves, they're just going to combine their groups and force the girls to get along and do stuff together.

"Six kids doesn't seem like a lot," Chloe remarks as they try to organize their campers "but it is. Trust me. When you're trying to deal with all of them at once and make sure they don't get eaten by a bear or drown in the lake."

Aubrey's brow knits. "I feel like if there's a possibility of one of them drowning in the lake then you've already lost control long before that point." She remarks. "Also, I told you there are no bears around here."

"Fine. Make sure they don't get eaten by a mountain lion or something. Whatever. The point is that I think it will be easier if we just stick together." Chloe waves her hand dismissively. "And I'm a second year counselor, after all, so you should listen to my advice."

Aubrey gives her a mock-salute and nods. "Aye-aye, captain." Not like she's going to complain about getting to spend time with Chloe. Even though that's not _why_ she's here…it's just an added bonus.

One of the girls assigned to Aubrey's group pitches a Chloe-like temper tantrum and it takes Aubrey nearly ten minutes to get the girl to stop crying. She's never had to deal with younger kids before, at least not as the sole care-giver, and it's a little overwhelming. She doesn't consider herself to be the affectionate and sympathetic type but apparently patting the little girl on the back and assuring her over and over again that she's going to have a good time and it's all going to be okay is really all it takes. The girl, Andrea, finally stops crying but insists on holding Aubrey's hand as they walk to the cabin and sticks close to Aubrey when the other girls pick their beds.

Aubrey tries to encourage the girl to participate in activities with the rest of the girls but Andrea seems more interested in hanging back and just watching so Aubrey eventually gives up and sits on the bench close to where her campers are making lanyards with Chloe and the other girls and Andrea sits in her lap and neither of them say much of anything.

Eventually Chloe comes over and sits next to Aubrey. "I made you something." She informs the blonde, holding up a carefully braided green and blue lanyard. "You can put it on your keys and everything. I know, I'm very impressive."

Aubrey nods as she takes the lanyard from Chloe. "Yes, I am most definitely impressed by your lanyard making skills. You should consider making it a career."

"Oh, I'm one step ahead of you. 'Lanyards by Beale' that's what I'm going to call it." Chloe assures her. "You're lucky because you get one for free. People are going to be paying like…two dollars for those things one day."

"Well, then I'll be sure to treasure it always." Aubrey assures Chloe.

She goes to put the lanyard into her pocket for safe keeping but Andrea reaches out and takes the lanyard from her. She examines it closely without a word for several seconds before handing it back to Aubrey and slipping off her lap, heading over to the table where the other girls are working and joining in without further hesitation.

Chloe smiles and nods. "See, I already have one satisfied customer."

"I think they're only considered a customer if they buy something." Aubrey points out, putting the lanyard in her back pocket.

Chloe shrugs. "Well, she thought it was so good that she wanted to make one of her own. I'd say that's a satisfied customer."

Aubrey arches an eyebrow. "But won't that line of thinking put you out of business?"

"You're right." Chloe snaps her fingers, feigning disappointment. "Back to the drawing board."

For the most part, the new campers seem content to ignore their counselors as they move from activity to activity. Unless, of course, they need something. Aubrey and Chloe spend the majority of their time breaking up potential fights over whose turn it is to be on first base or whether April should be allowed to make a bracelet with pink and yellow beads even though Kate is already making a bracelet with pink and yellow beads. But for the most part, the girls keep themselves distracted and focused on making friends and keeping busy with different activities.

"Well, so far so good, right? No one has been eaten by a mountain lion or almost drowned." Aubrey teases as she sits down at one of the tables in the mess hall.

Chloe rolls her eyes. "Yeah but it's only the first day." She points out. "The mountain lions don't show up until at least the second week."

"I'll be sure to keep an eye out then." Aubrey smirks, shaking her head.

After dinner, they shepherd their campers to the site of the opening night bonfire and Chloe teaches Aubrey the camp songs that she doesn't remember from her own time as a camper and eventually Aubrey picks up on enough of the words to start singing along.

"You have a really pretty voice." Chloe tells her as they walk back to their cabins with twelve tired girls trailing along. "You should sing more often."

"That was pretty much a onetime performance." Aubrey informs her. "I really only sing along with the radio."

Chloe makes a thoughtful noise. "I'm sure I can find one of those around here somewhere…"

Aubrey rolls her eyes. "Not gonna happen." She tells Chloe. "You have a beautiful voice too." She says in hopes of diverting Chloe's attention.

"Thanks." Chloe grins at her. "I'm actually planning on majoring in vocal performance at Barden."

"Oh, I got accepted there too." Aubrey says as soon as she figures out why that name sounds so familiar. She applied to several colleges in Atlanta before her father even told her that they were moving back to their home state because she'd considered returning there on her own volition.

Chloe's eyes light up. "Oh my God, how awesome would that be if we went to college together?" She questions, clapping her hands together. "You could totally be a vocal performance major too and we could become roommates and then we could-"

"Whoa, Chloe," Aubrey laughs, "take a breath. I'm going to be pre-law anyway, remember?"

"Yeah but you said you didn't want to do that." Chloe arches an eyebrow. "Remember?"

Aubrey doesn't say anything in hopes of letting the conversation drop. Chloe seems to take the hint because they don't talk again until they're parting ways outside their separate cabins. The girls take turns shuffling to the tiny bathroom to change into their pajamas and brush their teeth and Aubrey can tell that some of them are so worn out that they're having a hard time even putting one foot in front of the other. Once everyone is finished and tucked in their respective beds, Aubrey gives them the same speech that Alice gave her campers on their first night, only she tries to be more sympathetic and comforting as she explains that nighttime noises are normal and there's nothing outside to be worried about and eventually they'll get used to the wind and the sound of the animals.

As soon as Aubrey flicks off the light and puts her head on her pillow, she feels exhaustion start to overtake her as well. But it's a good kind of exhaustion and she's looking forward to getting up the following morning and continuing to get to know her campers and being able to talk to and be around Chloe.

Aubrey's eyes haven't been closed for long before she hears the unmistakable sounds of someone trying not to cry. She's not surprised to find that Andrea is the one clutching her pillow to her chest in attempt to muffle the sound of her tears. Aubrey gets out of bed and kneels beside Andrea's bed, glad that the girl is on the bottom bunk because that will hopefully make it easier for her to calm her down without waking up the rest of the girls in the room. She wonders what the perfect thing to say in this situation would be. How can she make Andrea feel better? It's not like she has a lot of personal experience to pull from. She can't help but wonder what Chloe would do in this situation and finds herself a little envious of her friend; Chloe seems like she would never have a hard time knowing exactly what to say or do in any situation.

"I miss my dad." Andrea says softly when Aubrey asks her what the matter is. "I miss my dog. Can I go home?"

Aubrey rubs Andrea's back, smiling at the younger girl. "Not right now." She tells her gently. "But maybe tomorrow, after we've gone swimming and played volleyball and gone on our nature hike, if you still want to go home then you can."

Andrea stops sniffing and looks at Aubrey. "We're doing all that stuff tomorrow?"

"Yeah. And we're going to do even more fun stuff the day after that." Aubrey tells her. "That's why it's important that you get to sleep now because you need to be rested for tomorrow." Andrea still doesn't look entirely convinced so she adds, "Plus, I really want you to stay so we can be friends."

Andrea nods and wipes her tears off her cheeks. "Okay. I can try to stay."

Aubrey smiles. "Good. You'll feel better in the morning." She assures Andrea. "And I'm right here if you need me."

Andrea nods again and Aubrey pulls the covers up around the girl's shoulders before she gets back into her own bed. Within minutes, Andrea has fallen asleep and Aubrey feels a hint of satisfaction. Maybe she's better at this whole counselor thing than she gave herself credit for. Of course, channeling Chloe definitely didn't hurt either.

In the morning, Andrea shows no signs of wanting to go home, so Aubrey considers her little pep talk a success. Yep, she's pretty good at this whole thing.

* * *

Over the next few weeks, Aubrey feels a little bit like she's nine years old ago and just as inseparable from Chloe as she was then. The time they spent apart slowly falls away and it's like their friendship had just been on pause until they could see each other again face to face. Of course now that they're older, the topics of their conversations are a little different but Aubrey still finds herself laughing and smiling just as much and she finds herself struggling to come up with ways to make Chloe laugh and smile too. For purely selfish reasons, of course, because she thinks that Chloe has a really great smile and a contagious laugh. Everything with Chloe is just so effortless and Aubrey thinks that it's nice after so many years of trying to fit in and make friends and trying not to care about the constant moving to just stop trying and let something come naturally.

It's nice to feel important, to feel like there was someone out there who actually looks forward to seeing her every morning and who doesn't seem to mind all her quirks and eccentricities. Aubrey figures that it would be easy to get addicted to feeling like this.

But the unfortunate thing about never having really had a friend before is she doesn't quite know if certain things are normal or expected. Should she be thinking about Chloe as much as she does? Should she feel butterflies whenever Chloe smiles at her? Is that normal? Is that a friendship thing?

Aubrey's thoughts on the subject become even more muddled when Chloe develops a habit of holding her hand whenever the opportunity presents itself. Whenever they're taking their kids on nature hikes or just sitting in companionable silence during the quiet hour after lunch when the campers are forced to take a break from activities and do something less loud and energy expending. Aubrey loves these required quiet hours because most of the time her kids just pass out in their bunks and she can just take a breather and sit with Chloe and just enjoy not having six (or twelve because Chloe's campers seem to have adopted her as their surrogate counselor, just like her kids have done with Chloe) voices begging for her attention or assistance.

Not that Aubrey protests whenever Chloe takes her hand and laces their fingers together. She doesn't mind in the least. She just wants to know. Should her heart skip a beat when Chloe touches her? Should her mouth go dry when they sit so close together that their shoulders touch and Chloe's sun-warmed skin presses against hers?

(Aubrey's pretty sure that she already knows the answers to these questions, by the way.)

* * *

Before too much longer, cool breezes and comfortably warm days become a distant memory. Aubrey has to fight the urge to hack all her hair off because just keeping it piled on top of her head doesn't seem like enough and she's sweaty and covered with a thin layer of dirt and even though she's still having fun and not regretting her decision to spend her summer in the middle of nowhere, she's definitely wishing that it was just a little bit cooler. Because right now she's seriously reconsidering why she missed Georgia so much.

"I don't know how you stand it." Chloe remarks. "It's freaking hot, how are you not swimming right now?" She sits down next to Aubrey on the edge of the dock and can already feel the sun drying her off even though she's been out of the water for like ten seconds.

Pretty much everyone at Camp Twin Pines appears to share Chloe's sentiment. Campers and counselors alike are enjoying the temporary reprieve offered by the lake and even though Aubrey does have to admit that the idea has some merit, she still can't bring herself to actually get into the water.

"Diseases Chloe." Aubrey points out, fanning herself with her hand. "Diseases."

Chloe rolls her eyes. "Don't you think that if there really were horrible and disgusting diseases in that water and they won't encourage children to go swimming?" She smirks. "Don't you think someone would have died or mutated by now? I mean, I swam in this lake every summer and I'm fine."

Aubrey smirks. "That's debatable." She teases.

"You're so funny." Chloe deadpans, rolling her eyes. "You should really take that show on the road."

"Oh I'm planning on it. Who needs college when you have a career in stand-up comedy."

Chloe nods her agreement. "Now you're talking." She bumps Aubrey's shoulder with her own and Aubrey ducks her head to hide a smile. "Ugh!" Chloe groans after sixty seconds of sitting in silence. "It's so hot! I can't handle it! I'm moving to Alaska."

"I lived there for six months when my father was working at the base there." Aubrey informs her. "You don't want to live there."

"Yes I do." Chloe groans. "It's hot. I'm dying."

Aubrey rolls her eyes. "I can't tell who's more dramatic: you or our eight-year-old campers." Chloe sticks her tongue out and Aubrey laughs. "Exactly my point."

"Well you'll be sorry when I melt from all this heat." Chloe informs her frankly. "Then you'll see that I wasn't being overdramatic at all."

Aubrey shoves Chloe back into the lake, unable to keep herself from laughing at the look of surprise on Chloe's face right before she disappears under the water. Chloe surfaces and spits a mouthful of water in Aubrey's direction. Aubrey squeals and jumps to her feet, stepping out of range. "Chloe! You shouldn't put that water in your mouth, it's disgusting."

Chloe rolls her eyes. "Maybe if someone hadn't _pushed_ me in. Though I am much cooler now. You should let me return the favor." She beckons Aubrey closer to her with a mischievous smile on her face.

Aubrey crosses her arms over her chest and shakes her head. "No, I don't think so. I'm good right here."

"You're missing out."

Aubrey shrugs. "Oh well."

Chloe splashes water in her direction but Aubrey is far enough away to avoid getting wet. "You're no fun." She teases.

"Maybe not but at least I'm not swimming in disgusting lake water and getting who knows what kinds of diseases."

Chloe rolls her eyes. "Who's being dramatic now?"

* * *

Later that night, Aubrey is about to grab her pajamas and duck into the bathroom to change out of her shorts and tank-top when she hears someone tapping lightly on the cabin door. She turns around, confused and half-convinced that she's just hearing things but then she sees Chloe standing on the other side of the screen door and she rolls her eyes. Aubrey eases the door open and steps outside. "Aren't you supposed to be watching a bunch of eight-year-olds?" She questions with a smirk.

Chloe shrugs. "They're all asleep. They'll be fine." She assures Aubrey. "It's way too hot to sleep anyway."

"Even so-" Aubrey begins but Chloe doesn't give her the chance to finish.

"Come on, let's go." Chloe grabs Aubrey's hand and pulls her away from the cabin.

"Wait, go where?" Aubrey pulls her hand out of Chloe's and looks at her friend quizzically. "We can't go anywhere. What about the girls?" She gestures over her shoulder toward the cabin full of (hopefully) sleeping eight-year-olds.

Chloe waves her hand dismissively. "They're going to be _fine_." She assures Aubrey. "Breaking the rules is fun."

Aubrey shakes her head. "I think following the rules is fun." She corrects. Chloe makes a face and Aubrey laughs. "Where do you even want to go?"

"To the lake. It's so hot." Chloe whines. "I just want to cool off. And I need you to come because you'll be my swimming buddy and make sure that I don't drown." She bats her eyes at Aubrey, an innocent smile on her face. "Please? Isn't the responsible thing to make sure that I don't go by myself?"

Aubrey sighs. "I think the responsible thing would be to not let you go at all." She points out. But when Chloe grabs her hand again, she lets herself be pulled away from the cabin and follows Chloe down the path toward the lake.

It's hard to see despite the full moon shining above and Aubrey sticks close to Chloe under the assumption that the redhead knows where she's going. At least Aubrey hopes that she does. Chloe doesn't let go of her hand and that's just fine as far as Aubrey's concerned. The quiet around them makes it easy to pretend that they're the only two people inhabiting the world and that nothing exists past the two of them and this moment.

Without hundreds of campers splashing around and trampling the plants desperately clinging to life at the edge of the bank, Aubrey can't help but think that the lake doesn't look so bad. It's peaceful and still and the mirrored surface reflects back the moon and the thousands of stars blinking above them. Sure it's a pretty picture…but that doesn't mean that she's any more interested in going swimming now than she was in the middle of the day.

Chloe, as usual, doesn't have the same restraints. She slips out of her shorts and pulls off her Camp Twin Pines tee-shirt and even though Aubrey saw her in a bathing suit only hours before, she finds herself looking away anyway, her mouth suddenly going dry. This seems somehow more…just more. What is wrong with her? Friends do not get flustered over seeing their friends in bathing suits.

Aubrey finally looks back toward the lake when she hears a splash. Chloe surfaces seconds later and shakes her head in an attempt to push her hair out of her face. "Much better." She grins serenely, her features just barely visible in the moonlight. "Come on Bree, you know you want to."

"No, I really don't." Aubrey shakes her head. "I'll just supervise."

Chloe floats on her back, kicking water in Aubrey's direction. "No, not acceptable. You've got to come swimming. You're already here so…"

"I didn't bring my bathing suit." Aubrey protests. "And if we're both in the water than we wouldn't be able to hear if anyone was coming and we'd both get in trouble." Both of these things sound like pretty good arguments in Aubrey's point of view.

"Life is risk, Aubrey." Chloe says, kicking more water in her direction for good measure.

Aubrey shrugs. "I think I'll just risk standing here on the dock."

Chloe pouts. "Boo. I can't believe you're going to make me swim all by myself."

"It was _your_ idea." Aubrey points out. "You should have considered that before."

Chloe sticks her tongue out at Aubrey again before taking a deep breath and disappearing under the surface of the water. Aubrey rolls her eyes even though her friend is no longer around to see her face. It's hard to see Chloe under the surface of the water in the dark and Aubrey briefly worries about something horrible happening. She's not even sure what but it's possible. There's a reason she bought that _Worst Case Scenario_ book. It would be just her luck.

Aubrey kicks off her flip-flops and goes to sit on the edge of the dock, dangling her feet in the water. The water is nice and cool and even though it's only her feet below the surface, she feels cooler already.

Chloe finally surfaces again and swims over toward the dock. "Look, this is a start." She remarks. "It's not so bad, is it?"

"Well, I'm not _in_ the water, so I think I can handle this." Aubrey says. "And no, I guess it's not so bad."

Chloe's smile quickly turns mischievous, though Aubrey notices this too late to actually be able to do anything about it. Chloe grabs her hands and pulls her off the edge of the dock and into the water, narrowly avoiding going under with Aubrey. She starts swimming away, figuring that it might be a good idea to put some distance between the two of them when Aubrey finally surfaces.

"I cannot believe you!" Aubrey practically yells the second her head breaks the surface of the water. Clearly she doesn't care so much about being quiet anymore. "Chloe! My clothes!" She narrows her eyes at the redhead.

Chloe gives her an innocent smile. "Whoops."

Aubrey's expression turns a bit murderous and Chloe puts a little bit more distance between the two of them. "If I get sick, I'm blaming you."

Chloe rolls her eyes. "You aren't going to get sick." She assures her. "Just relax. Night time swimming is…awesome. Isn't this awesome?"

"No." Aubrey says but now that she's already in the water it seems stupid to still be upset. And it really is nice and cool…it would be better if she wasn't in her clothes though.

"Sure it is." Chloe starts swimming back in her direction, no longer feeling like her life is in danger. "It's so quiet and peaceful and there aren't any kids around who want our attention. And, I mean, look at all those stars. You just can't help but feel small and the universe is so big and-"

"You're a dork." Aubrey cuts her off with a laugh. "What the hell are you even talking about?"

Chloe rolls her eyes. "Well, excuse me for trying to be deep and metaphysical."

"Dork." Aubrey says again, splashing Chloe to further make her point.

"Oh, okay. So that's how it's going to be huh?" Chloe arches an eyebrow. "I'll have you know that I'm the Camp Twin Pines splash champion."

Aubrey gives her a look. "That's not a thing." She informs Chloe frankly.

Chloe just splashes Aubrey and Aubrey has little choice but to retaliate. She really wishes that she would stop laughing because that just means that she would get less lake water in her mouth. But she just can't seem to keep that stupid grin off her face or stop laughing, especially because Chloe's laughing and she's always found the redhead's laugh hard to resist.

Chloe grabs Aubrey around the shoulders and tries to dunk her under water. Aubrey laughs and tries to twist away from her. "Okay, okay. Truce." She laughs. "Please. I can't swallow anymore lake water."

"Fine. But just this once." Chloe lets go of her shoulders and moves away from Aubrey, treading water. She's still close enough to reach out and grab her if she should decide to renege on the truce but, to be honest, dunking Aubrey under water is not the reason that she wants to grab her right now.

Chloe doesn't even realize that she's staring at Aubrey until the blonde asks, "What? Why are you looking at me like that?" and looks adorably self-conscious.

"Oh, I…I'm not." Chloe shakes her head, feeling her cheeks redden in embarrassment. What an idiot. "I was…you have seaweed in your hair." She blurts out and instantly wants to drown herself. God-damnit Beale. Seaweed?

Aubrey gives her a quizzical look. "Seaweed?"

Chloe opens her mouth to salvage some part of her dignity but that plan goes completely to hell when she feels something brush against her leg and she can't stop herself from screaming. Aubrey's eyes go wide in surprise. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"Something just touched me!" Chloe kicks her legs out, trying to scare away whatever is swimming around her. "It was probably a snake! Holy shit! Are there snakes in here?"

"I mean, I guess there could be-" Aubrey begins but she barely gets the words out of her mouth before Chloe is swimming frantically toward the dock.

The sound of something splashing somewhere behind her makes Aubrey start swimming for the dock so fast that she's certain she could secure a swimming scholarship to the college of her choice if anyone other than Chloe had seen her performance. She pulls herself out onto the dock and lays down next to Chloe, who is curled on her side laughing at herself. "Oh my God." She chokes out between laughs and attempts to catch her breath. "I thought we were going to die."

Aubrey laughs and shakes her head. "That's a little dramatic. We weren't going to die." She points out. "Maybe you would have been bitten by a snake but that's the worst that would have happened."

Chloe glares at her. "Why am _I_ the one who gets bitten by the snake?" She questions. "You were right there too."

"Because this was _your_ idea." Aubrey shrugs, sitting up and wringing her hair out. "Snake bites are karma for pushing people into the lake. Besides it was probably just a fish or something."

Chloe makes a face. "I'll push you back in, Posen." She threatens. "Then you can tell me whether it was a snake or a fish."

Aubrey rolls her eyes. "Yeah right. I'd like to see you try." She mumbles. She looks down at herself and grimaces. "Ugh. I'm a mess." Her clothes are soaking wet and she's certain that her hair is a tangled mess. Not to mention she's dirty from lake water.

Chloe glances over at her and finds herself wondering what Aubrey's definition of the word 'mess' is. Because she's just not seeing it.

"You're staring again." Aubrey says, trying to make her voice light. Really she wants to say _why? Why me? _

"I…" Chloe swallows. "You're beautiful."

"You're crazy." Aubrey is glad that it's dark, otherwise Chloe would be able to see how red her cheeks are and how she's trying to fight to keep the smile off her face. She ducks her head anyway, just to be sure that Chloe can't see her bashfulness.

Chloe just shakes her head. "No I'm not." She says softly. "I think you're beautiful and you're awesome and I like you and…you're a great friend." Well shit. That was not exactly what she had in mind when she started that sentence. Well done.

Aubrey looks up at Chloe and purses her lips. "Yeah." She nods. "I think you're awesome and a great friend too." She gets to her feet and slips on her shoes. "We should probably go back now."

Chloe can't bring herself to look at Aubrey as she stands up as well. "Yeah, probably." _You're an idiot_, she thinks to herself as she follows Aubrey off the dock and onto the path that will lead them back to the cabins. _A huge idiot_.

They don't talk much as they walk back and Aubrey can't figure out why her throat feels so dry and scratchy at the same time. She probably is going to catch something from that lake water…and yes, Aubrey knows this is a pitiful excuse so you don't need to rub it in.

"I'll see you in the morning." Aubrey says once they're standing outside her cabin. She gives Chloe a small smile.

Chloe smiles and nods and Aubrey opens the door and steps inside. "Aubrey, wait…" The blonde pauses and turns back to face Chloe. Who has suddenly fallen silent. "Never mind." She mumbles. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Aubrey nods and goes into the cabin. She puts her shoes beside her bed and checks on all her peacefully sleeping campers, who have been lost in dreamland and unaware that their counselor abandoned them. Well, maybe abandoned is too strong a word. She was just taking a break.

She gets her towel and shower caddy and goes into the small bathroom that she has to share with six other girls. Of course the bathroom is spic and span because there's no way that she would condone any of them using a dirty and disgusting bathroom. Aubrey turns on the shower and peels off her damp clothes as she waits for the water to heat up. She wrinkles her nose and drapes her wet clothes across the towel rack. Hopefully they'll be dry in the morning, otherwise Aubrey's not sure how she's going to explain her wet clothes to a bunch of nosy girls.

Aubrey wouldn't even know what to tell them anyway. _I went swimming with my friend Chloe. It was actually a lot of fun…until she told me that I was a great friend_. And why should she care anyway? It's not like Chloe insulted her. She said they were friends. Aubrey should be happy to hear those words; she should be happy to have friends. So why does she feel like crying?

Aubrey tries to push those thoughts out of her mind as she steps into the shower and rinses the lake water off her body. Ignoring her thoughts proves to be easier said than done, of course. What exactly was she hoping that Chloe would say to her out there on the dock? What was she expecting to happen? Just because she spends too much time thinking about Chloe, _her best friend_, in a way that is most definitely not the way that you should think about your friends doesn't mean that Chloe does too. It's disappointing and a little bit depressing but it shouldn't be surprising. Once again Aubrey Posen can consider herself abnormal.

Once Aubrey feels thoroughly rinsed of disgusting lake water, she pulls on her pajamas and gets into bed. But she's not nearly as tired as she was before. She can't seem to stop thinking about Chloe. Of course Aubrey knows what she wanted to hear Chloe say but she feels like an idiot. _I like you; I want to kiss you; I think you're perfect_. But Aubrey knows that she's an idiot. No one would ever think those things about her, especially not someone like Chloe, who actually is perfect in Aubrey's opinion. She rolls onto her stomach and buries her face in her pillow. God she's an idiot. Thank God she didn't do something stupid and ruin her friendship with Chloe. She figures that she can handle the rest of it as long as she still has Chloe in her life.

_tbc. _


	3. Been Talkin' 'Bout the Way Things Change

**A/N: **Okay so here it is: the last part! You guys have been awesome, as always! Thanks!

**"****Been Talkin' 'Bout the Way Things Change" **

Aubrey is pretty sure that she doesn't actually fall asleep until five minutes before she's supposed to get up and get her kids moving and marching toward the breakfast hall. She wants to just stay in bed all day and pull the covers over her head and not move no matter what. But Aubrey Posen is not a quitter and she does not give into weakness. So she gets up, puts on a happy face and starts another day at Camp Twin Pines.

Chloe looks bright-eyed and bushy tailed when Aubrey sees her in the mess hall and she finds herself very envious of her redheaded friend. It's going to be a very long day, Aubrey can tell. Not to mention the fact that Chloe has clearly moved on from their conversation (or lack thereof) the night before and Aubrey still can't stop thinking about it. Or, rather, thinking about what went unsaid. She really needs to get her shit together.

Aubrey is more than relieved when it's finally time for this day to end. If there's a word that means more than relived than that's how she feels. As soon as she makes sure that all her kids are in their beds, she flops down on her own, letting out a sigh of relief. She really needs to get up and change into her PJs but she can't bring herself to move. She'll just rest here for a few minutes. Or an hour. Or until the morning. She can sleep in her clothes.

But when Aubrey hears the unmistakable sounds of someone tapping on the door, her eyes fly open and she sits up. There's Chloe, wearing her trademark mischievous grin.

"I'm not going swimming with you." Aubrey informs Chloe frankly when she opens the door and steps outside. "You're untrustworthy."

"Do you think I'm getting back in that water? There are snakes in there." Chloe tells her, incredulous. "No, we're doing something else. Come on." Chloe grabs her hand.

Aubrey pulls her hand away before making the conscious effort to do so. She loves Chloe, of course she does, and she values their friendship. But she can't keep with the hand-holding and the touching. Plenty of friendships do just fine without those things.

"I'm tired." Aubrey says, shaking her head. "I just want to go to bed."

Chloe's brow knits and Aubrey almost can't bear the frown on her face. "Come on Bree. It'll be fun." She wheedles. "Better than swimming. No water involved. I promise."

Aubrey sighs and rolls her eyes. "Fine. But if I fall asleep during the nature hike tomorrow it's going to be your fault."

Chloe grins. "I accept full responsibility. Let's go." She turns and starts walking toward the center of camp, glancing over her shoulder to make sure that Aubrey is following.

Which, of course, she is.

Chloe leads them toward the mess hall and Aubrey barely suppresses a groan. "Not more ice cream."

"You complain a lot about awesome things." Chloe remarks. "Who complains about eating ice cream?" They slip into the dining hall and make a beeline for the kitchen. "Besides, we're not eating ice cream. This is going to be way better." She walks into the pantry and emerges a few seconds later with her arms laden with goodies. "You know the best part about being a counselor? We don't have to wait until the last night to make s'mores."

Aubrey grins in spite of herself. "Only you, Chloe." She can't keep the affectionate out of her voice. "You know I've still never had a s'more."

"That's just wrong." Chloe shakes her head. "We're about to change that right now. I don't want to hear any more complaints from you. You're getting a s'more and you're going to like it."

"And just how are we going to make these s'mores?" Aubrey questions as she follows Chloe back out of the dining hall. "I think someone would notice a bon fire."

"There are other fire pits around camp, we just never use them because they're too small to get everyone in camp around them." Chloe explains as she leads Aubrey down one of the trails. "But some of the counselors use them at night for various reasons."

Aubrey raises an eyebrow. "Sounds like a good way to start a forest fire."

"You worry too much." Chloe chides. "There won't be any forest fires."

"Well someone has to worry." Aubrey protests. "Maybe if you had listened to me last night you wouldn't have almost been attacked by a snake."

Chloe shrugs. "Well…true. But it was fun, wasn't it?"

Aubrey rolls her eyes. "Yes." She admits grudgingly.

"Then that's all that matters." Chloe assures her.

"Okay, good to know. It's okay if you get bitten by a snake as long as you're having fun." Aubrey taps the side of her head. "I'm going to file that gem away for future use."

The area that Chloe leads them to can barely be described as a fire pit. It's a small space off the right side of the trail that's been cleared, but just barely, of brush and undergrowth. The ground has been raked clear and is nothing but hard packed dirt and there's a ring of large rocks in the center of the dirt patch. The charred remains of past campfires still sit in the middle of the rocks and a few upright stumps serve as seats. Aubrey takes one look at the set up and gives Chloe a doubtful look. "Yeah, this doesn't fill me with confidence." She remarks. "What would Smokey the Bear say?"

"If I burn the camp down then you can say I told you so, okay?" Chloe pats Aubrey on the shoulder. "Will that make you happy?"

Aubrey nods. "Yes, definitely." Chloe gives her a look and Aubrey just gives her an innocent smile.

Chloe sets the food down on one of the stumps. She and Aubrey gather the necessarily kindling for the fire and Chloe instructs Aubrey to find two sticks they can use to toast their marshmallows while she starts the fire. By the time Aubrey returns, Chloe has a decent fire going in the middle of the rocks and a pleased look on her face. "That wasn't so hard." Chloe remarks, tossing the book of matches aside.

"So you've never done this before?" Aubrey questions, handing Chloe one of the sticks that she picked up.

Chloe shrugs. "Not exactly. But I've always wanted to. I'm living the dream." She gets a marshmallow out of the bag and impales it on the tip of her stick and Aubrey does the same.

"Try not to burn it this time, okay?" Aubrey teases as she sits down on one of the tree stumps.

"I'll have you know that I am now a professional marshmallow roaster." Chloe informs her haughtily. "I've had a lot of time to practice, thank you very much." She sits down next to Aubrey, even though there really isn't enough room for two to fit comfortably and there are plenty of other places for her to sit. Aubrey tries not to think too much. About anything.

For a while, the only sounds come from the woods around them and the snapping of the firewood as it continues to burn. Aubrey still feels tired but she feels better than she has all day: happy and content and sharing a comfortable silence with her best friend.

"So have you figured it out yet?" Chloe questions suddenly, looking over at Aubrey.

"Figured what out?" Aubrey asks, giving her friend a quizzical look. Did she zone out for part of this conversation or something?

"What you want to do." Chloe clarifies. "When you go to college. You don't want to study law. So what do you want to do?"

Aubrey sighs and wrinkles her nose. She's really not in the mood to have a conversation about her future right now. Mostly because she has no idea what her future is going to consist of. There's a lot of uncertainties there and she doesn't do well with uncertainties.

"I didn't say I wasn't going to study law." Aubrey mumbles.

Chloe arches an eyebrow. "But you said you didn't _want_ to." She points out. "So why would you?"

Aubrey sighs and shakes her head. "You don't know my dad." She watches her marshmallow intently, like the whole world could be lost if it burns.

"But still…it's not your dad's life." Chloe protests. "You should do something that's going to make you happy; you shouldn't just do something because he wants you to. That's not fair."

"Life's not fair." Aubrey mutters, still focusing her attention on her marshmallow. She's heard that from her father countless times but it seems to be a favorite mantra for the angry and the world-weary. Aubrey can't disagree with the sentiment.

Chloe shakes her head. "No, it's not. But you act like you don't have any control over the situation." Aubrey makes no move to respond. "What would _you_ want to do?"

Aubrey sighs. "Can we just not talk about this, please?" She looks over at Chloe. "Can we talk about something else?"

Chloe doesn't exactly look happy about it but she doesn't press the subject anymore. The silence that settles between them feels less comfortable and Aubrey wishes she had never said anything. She should have just let Chloe make up some fantastic future for her and she should have just gone along with it even though they both knew that in the end she would just go to law school like her father wanted and that would be the end of it. But now things are awkward and uncomfortable and it's her fault.

Chloe takes her marshmallow out of the fire and blows on it for a few seconds before poking at it. Apparently satisfied, she gingerly pulls the sticky marshmallow off the stick and pops it in her mouth, no graham crackers or chocolate required.

"I thought the whole point was to make s'mores." Aubrey remarks.

"Oh I'm still planning on making the s'mores." Chloe assures her. "But sometimes you just need to eat the marshmallows." She shrugs.

Aubrey takes her own stick out the fire and studies the marshmallow carefully. Hers is slightly melty and a little black around the edges. It doesn't look very appetizing, especially without the chocolate, but she pulls it off the stick anyway and instantly regrets that decision. "Ow! Hot!" Without thinking, Aubrey tosses the marshmallow aside and sticks her fingers in her mouth in an attempt to cool them down.

"Well, you did just take that out of the fire." Chloe points out. "And fire is generally hot."

Aubrey ignores Chloe's snark and looks at her fingers, which are a little red but it's hardly an emergency. Even though her skin is still stinging. "It's not funny." She mumbles, glaring at Chloe. "It hurts."

Chloe makes a sympathetic noise and reaches for Aubrey's hand. "I'm sorry." She says in a tone similar to one you would use when talking to a small child. She starts blowing on Aubrey's fingers in an effort to help diminish some of the burning.

Aubrey feels her mouth go dry and she curls her fingers into her palm, pulling her hand away from Chloe's. "You…you don't have to do that." She croaks, clearing her throat in an attempt to sound like a normal person again.

Chloe looks up at Aubrey and the proximity does little to help the way that Aubrey's heart is pounding. But at least she's not worried about her fingers. It quickly becomes hard to worry about anything when Chloe leans forward and presses their lips together. Chloe's lips are sweet from the marshmallow and Aubrey lets out a (slightly embarrassing in her opinion) noise of surprise and her eyes go wide. Chloe starts to pull away but Aubrey reaches out and slips her hand around the curve of Chloe's neck and pulls them together again.

The next time Chloe goes to pull back, Aubrey lets her but only because she's feeling a little light headed and needs to catch her breath. She can feel herself blushing but she honestly doesn't care. She just wants to go back to kissing Chloe and then no one would be able to tell that she was blushing anyway.

"That's what I was trying to say last night." Chloe tells her, biting her bottom lip. "I just…I panicked. I _like_ you, Aubrey. And I mean, you _are_ a good friend but I really _like_ you."

Aubrey wonders if Chloe can hear how loudly her heart is beating. She really hopes not because it's a little embarrassing. "I like you too. Like in the I really want to kiss you way." Yep, clearly. Since there was just kissing involved. Sometimes Aubrey wishes that she could just keep her mouth shut. At least then she wouldn't say anything horribly embarrassing or idiotic.

But Chloe just smiles. "Well, what's stopping you?" Their lips meet again and Chloe is as close to Aubrey as she can possibly get without actually being in her lap and Aubrey is pretty sure that she wouldn't mind even if she was.

Aubrey feels like there's too much going on for her to process and she's never felt quite so overwhelmed before. But between Chloe's touch and her lips and her smell of her shampoo, it's the best kind of sensory overload Aubrey can imagine. She can't figure out what she's supposed to be doing other than kissing Chloe; what she's supposed to do with her hands and her body, which seems to want to be even closer to Chloe even though that doesn't seem possible. She hesitates for a moment and then puts her hands on Chloe's hips and that seems like a pretty good compromise.

Aubrey's lips tingle even after she and Chloe separate once more and when she runs her tongue against her lips she can still taste a hint of Chloe there. She can feel the heat from her cheeks (and, to be honest, that heat has spread through her entire body) and when Chloe smiles at her, that flush only increases.

Aubrey isn't sure what the proper protocol is for this situation. Do they just go back to doing what they were doing before the kissing; do they make s'mores and ignore the topic of her future and go back to their separate cabins and get up in the morning and does she pretend like she doesn't know what it's like to kiss Chloe or touch her? Does she kiss Chloe again? Should she kiss Chloe again? She does not like situations that she doesn't understand. That was one of the advantages of sticking to academics throughout her school career: no tricky social situations to navigate.

"I've never kissed anyone before." Aubrey admits, hoping to explain away some of the uncertainty that she's sure that Chloe has picked up on. Of course, thinking that things are suddenly awkward only makes Aubrey feel more awkward and she suddenly feels like she's trapped in a vicious cycle that she just can't get out of. At least it was a little easier when they were just kissing.

Chloe shakes her head. "That's crazy. I've been thinking about kissing you for days." Chloe wrinkles her nose. "I really hope that came out cute and not creepy and stalkerish."

Aubrey shakes her head. "No, it was cute." It seems stupid to say that it was nice because she likes the idea of someone thinking about kissing her. It's a novel concept that she can't wrap her head around. "I…me too."

"Well…good. I'm glad we're…on the same page." Chloe nods and really wishes that she could actually say something that didn't sound completely stupid or awkward and Aubrey probably thinks that she's an idiot.

Aubrey nods and she's not entirely sure what she's supposed to say next. Chloe seems just as uncertain because they both look at each other without saying anything and Aubrey feels herself start to smile because it is a little bit funny given the fact that they were just kissing each other and now they don't have anything to say. Chloe laughs and shakes her head and just rolls her eyes at herself. But things feel less awkward now, like everything is back to normal and Aubrey feels like there's nothing that she's _supposed_ to do. For once, there's no pressure to do or say the perfect thing. It's a relief. But, then again, it's always been that way with Chloe.

* * *

Aubrey quickly gets used to getting less than the recommended amount of sleep. Her days quickly develop into a routine that she wouldn't change for anything, even if that meant getting a few more hours of sleep. She always manages to get up in the morning right on schedule anyway, so no one has to know that after her campers fall asleep, she sneaks out to join Chloe for some much needed alone time. Getting even a single minute to themselves is definitely impossible during the day but Aubrey doesn't mind, even if sometimes a little smile or subtle touch from Chloe can leave her distracted for far too long. It's a little embarrassing actually. Normally she shows more composure than this.

But it hardly seems to matter. Because just being with Chloe is perfect and if Aubrey needs to sacrifice a bit of her composure then so be it. You'll hear no complaints from her. One thing that Aubrey will complain about, however, is Chloe's apparent affinity for making and eating s'mores. Aubrey has to admit that she's a little disappointed with the campfire snack and is pretty sure that she can go another eighteen years of her life without eating one. It's too sweet in her opinion; she much prefers to sit with Chloe while she roasts marshmallows and then kiss the lingering sweetness off her lips.

When Chloe can actually be convinced to skip making s'mores for the night, they take a blanket down to the dock and lay down to study the stars but really just spend hours talking about everything and nothing at all. Aubrey has no idea how they still manage to find ways to fill the time with words. She's never talked this much about her life with anyone before and Aubrey is amazed at her ability to remember all these little stories and events from her life and relay them to Chloe. She's amazed that she even wants to do that. But she wants Chloe to know all these things about her, like how she hates the color red and is terrified of spiders and her favorite book is _Watership Down_ even though her dad thinks that reading for fun is a waste of time. All these little things that never felt important before, all these little things that make her Aubrey, these are the things that she wants Chloe to know. And these are the things that she wants to know about Chloe.

Aubrey figures that she could listen to Chloe talk for hours. Her family, her childhood, her interests, all of it just seems fascinating to Aubrey. It's all a foreign concept to her: the annoying younger siblings and the fact that her parents are supportive of the fact that she was in remedial for two years of high school and the fact that she's lived in the same house her whole life. All these memories are the pieces that make up Chloe and she wants to know them all. So she's content to just lay on her back and look at the stars and listen to Chloe and hold her hand and wonder if it would be possible for her life to always be like this. She knows it's not, but it's a nice idea anyway. It's easy to pretend.

Some nights, Chloe manages to talk Aubrey into bringing her college brochures and listens patiently as Aubrey debates the pros and cons of each one. There are usually lengthy lists involved, just because Aubrey finds it hard to decide on anything major without being able to quantify everything and look at the evidence right in front of her. Chloe looks through the different course catalogues and points out interesting or bizarre classes that catch her attention, like courses on folklore in the South or underwater basket weaving. Which she never even knew was a real thing.

"Look," Chloe points to one of the listings on the brochure, "this school has a lot of dance classes. Ballet and stuff."

A part of Aubrey regrets telling Chloe that, regardless of where they moved to, she always made sure to find a dance studio and enroll in classes. Except when they lived in Alaska. She had to keep up with her routines in her bedroom for those six months. Now Chloe seems convinced that her life's goal should be to become a world-renowned ballet dancer. Even though Aubrey has explained several times before that it's already too late for that and that dance was just a hobby anyway. The only passion that she actually let herself nurture.

"But they don't have any pre-law classes." Aubrey points out after giving the course catalogue a cursory glance. "It's a liberal arts school."

Chloe makes a face. "Boo. Law. Boring." She tosses the catalogue aside and rolls onto her stomach so that it's easier for her to watch Aubrey as she dutifully makes her lists.

"It…isn't always boring." Aubrey says with a shrug. "Plus my dad-"

Chloe just groans and shakes her head. After listening to Aubrey's stories and memories, her feelings toward Marc Posen are not exactly favorable. Aubrey just rolls her eyes at Chloe and her dramatics.

After a few more minutes of watching Aubrey analyze the different courses and make detailed notes, Chloe finds the whole activity boring and scotches closer to Aubrey and lays her head in her lap. Aubrey laughs and gives her a look. "I thought I was supposed to be planning my future." She only has two more weeks to decide where she wants to send in her acceptance, otherwise she's going to be taking an unplanned year off from school. Her father would love that.

"It's time for a break." Chloe decides, taking the notebook from Aubrey and laying it aside.

Aubrey knows that resistance is futile. She just runs her fingers through Chloe's hair (which she figures is the type of attention that she was seeking) and Chloe makes a hum of contentment and closes her eyes. Yes, Aubrey wants life to be like this. Always. There's only three weeks left of camp and when she thinks about what's going to happen next there's nothing. Well, of course Aubrey knows that's not true. There's still everything, just waiting to be discovered. But she likes what she has now and she doesn't want that to change.

"So, when you asked me what it was that I wanted to do, I told you I didn't know." Aubrey says after a few minutes of silence. "But that's not true. I want to go into accounting."

Chloe sits up and gives her a look. "Seriously? Accounting? Really?" She arches an eyebrow. "_That's_ boring."

Aubrey rolls her eyes. "You asked! That's what I want to do." She shrugs.

"Why?" Chloe looks at Aubrey quizzically.

"I…don't know." Aubrey suddenly feels self-conscious and she's not sure why. She's told Chloe countless things about her, why is she feeling shy now? "Well, that's not true. I just…I always really liked math and economics classes were my favorite." She ignores the face that Chloe makes. "I just liked how everything always added up so perfectly. Numbers just make sense. You have something that's either right or it's wrong and if it's wrong then you know what you have to do to fix it. It's nice and neat and orderly. It makes sense. I would like to do something where I could work with numbers all day. It sounds relaxing."

"I think it sounds like a nightmare." Chloe tells her frankly. She takes Aubrey's hands and gives them a squeeze. "But if that sounds great to you, then _that's_ what you need to be doing. Not studying law or trying to make your dad happy. You need to make you happy."

Aubrey sighs. "It's not that easy."

Chloe gives her a doubtful look. "It should be." She points out. "It's your life."

"You don't know my father." Aubrey remarks. And for that she is grateful.

"Well your dad doesn't exactly sound like he's going to be winning father of the year." Chloe remarks.

Aubrey's brow knits. "He's done nothing but try and get me prepared for the real world. There's not always going to be somewhere there to coddle you and you're not always going to have the chance to do the things that you actually want to do."

"I actually think you _do_ get a chance to do those things and I think it's called college." Chloe argues. "You're right, okay, I don't know your dad and I'm sure that he thinks he's like doing the best for you or whatever. But you have to do what's best for you too."

Aubrey just sighs. "Let's just drop it, okay? It's not important anyway." She leans forward to kiss Chloe in hopes of effectively ending the discussion.

But Chloe pulls away before their lips can meet. "Why do you always want to change the topic when we're talking about you?"

"I don't." Aubrey protests. "We talk about me all the time. I told you about the time when-"

"I mean when we talk about college and the future and what you're going to study and what you _want_ to do." Chloe clarifies. "You always change the subject then."

Aubrey pulls her hands away from Chloe's and gets to her feet. She starts to pick up her notebook and the college brochures but then she drops them back to the dock. "Because I don't know what to do! Because if I do what my father wants then I at least know what I'm supposed to do: take political science classes, get into law school, graduate, become a member of his law firm. It's all laid out there perfectly. Nothing can go wrong. There are too many contingencies if I do anything else."

"That's okay!" Chloe assures her, getting to her feet as well. "That's how it's supposed to be."

But Aubrey just shakes her head. "No. That's how you set yourself up for failure." She turns around so she's face to face with Chloe. "I don't want to fail." She hates the tremor in her voice, the way that she's coming undone. It's embarrassing; she's a mess. She doesn't want Chloe to see her like this.

"You're not going to fail Aubrey." Chloe takes Aubrey's face in her hands and gives her a soft smile. "If there's anyone who can do absolutely anything, it's you."

"You don't know that." Aubrey mumbles.

Chloe nods. "Yes, I do. You're awesome. And you're so smart and incredibly capable. And you actually _want_ to do something boring with numbers or whatever. That's how I know how smart you are. I just don't want to see that change because you do what you think you're supposed to do and not what you want to do."

Aubrey sighs and drops her gaze to avoid looking at Chloe. "What if I do the wrong thing?"

"Then try again." Chloe says simply.

Aubrey just smirks. "My father says that second chances are for losers." She informs Chloe. "He always says 'if at first you don't succeed-'"

"I stand by my earlier comment about your father." Chloe interjects, giving Aubrey a look. "Why do you even care what he thinks anyway?"

"He's my father." Aubrey says simply, looking at Chloe like this is the most obvious thing in the world.

Chloe sighs and nods, kissing Aubrey softly. "I know. And you know what I think. So now you just have to pick the best thing for you."

Aubrey groans and nods. "I know, I know." She mumbles. "I'm sorry I'm crazy."

"Not crazy." Chloe corrects. "Just stubborn." She smiles at Aubrey and tucks a lock of hair behind her ear.

Aubrey puts her arms around Chloe's waist and pulls them closer together. "Let's not waste anymore time talking about school right now." She suggests. "We only have three weeks left."

Chloe groans and leans her forehead against Aubrey's shoulder. "Don't remind me." She mumbles. "Let's just run away."

Aubrey laughs and shakes her head. "No. You'd get sick of me." She predicts. "I can be difficult to get along with."

"Is that another one of your father's observations?" Chloe questions, giving Aubrey a look. "I think I can make up my own mind, thank you very much." She kisses Aubrey. "And I think you're awesome."

Aubrey doesn't agree with Chloe but she lets the words wash over her anyway and etch themselves across her skin, where she hopes that she'll be able to find them again when she doesn't have Chloe with her to say them. She buries her face against Chloe's hair and closes her eyes and holds Chloe close to her. If only everything was as simple as this.

* * *

It takes Aubrey three more days of making notes and making thoughtful noises whenever Chloe offers up a suggestion (though they both know that she's not actually listening) to decide that she's not going to focus on a law degree. At least not a first. She's going to concentrate primarily on getting her core classes out of the way and take a few statistics and accounting classes and if she hates it, then she'll consider going back into law. But if she doesn't then…she has to talk to her father. But she'll put that off for as long as possible.

Of course, now that that decision is out of the way, Aubrey has to figure out exactly where she wants to go. Unfortunately, pretty much every college offers accounting and statistics, so it's not like that's going to help her narrow her choices down. She's not even sure what state she wants to go to school in, though she definitely has even more bias toward staying in Georgia than she did before agreeing to go to Camp Twin Pines for the summer. Aubrey knows that it would be stupid to pick a college based on a relationship but if that's not the _only_ reason that she's picking that school then it's okay right?

Aubrey likes it when things make sense. And being with Chloe just makes sense. She considers herself exceptionally lucky because she can consider Chloe her best friend and maybe even her girlfriend. Chloe knows her, really knows her and for once that doesn't scare Aubrey.

And, for the most part, Chloe doesn't try to convince her to stay in the state, though she does make a few arguments for Barden. Most of the time, she just lays with her head in Aubrey's lap and listens to the blonde talk herself in circles. It's a little bit amusing, not that she'd ever tell Aubrey that.

After a particularly sleepless night, filled with a great deal of tossing, turning and internal debating, Aubrey finally makes up her mind and sends an electronic response to her acceptance letter before she can talk herself out of it. All her typing and tossing and turning doesn't disturb her campers in the least, though Aubrey has learned after several weeks of sneaking out that not much can wake them up once their heads have hit the pillows.

In the morning, she finds Chloe in the dining hall and has to resist the urge to put her arms around her and pull her in for a kiss. They decided to keep their relationship secret because it would hardly look professional to be engaging in PDA all the time when they were supposed to be supervising a bunch of children, but Aubrey is finding it more and more difficult every day to keep her hands to herself. Getting Chloe all to herself for a few hours at night just isn't nearly enough.

But she still manages to just greet Chloe with a smile and nothing more. "So, I think I finally made my decision."

It doesn't take Chloe long to realize what Aubrey's talking about. "Really?" Her voice brightens. "Where? No wait, let me guess." She purses her lips in thought. "University of Alaska."

"That's hilarious." Aubrey pokes Chloe in the side. "Nope. University of Georgia. They have a great accounting program _and_ a great law program if I change my mind. And…it's only two and a half hours away from Barden."

Chloe smiles. "Barden, hmm? Now why would that matter?"

Aubrey shrugs. "Well, I'm kinda seeing this great girl and she's going to go to school there so…I thought maybe…" She swallows, suddenly feeling nervous and insecure. "I mean if you wanted…we could…I just…" It's going to be hard make it through the rest of her life if she can't figure out how to string an actual sentence together.

But Chloe seems to know what she's trying to say anyway. She grins and her eyes sparkle and Aubrey is pretty sure that she's never seen someone so beautiful before. "Are you trying to ask me to be your girlfriend, Aubrey Posen?"

"Yes." Aubrey exhales, nodding. "Yes I would really like for you to be my girlfriend."

"I would like that too." Chloe reaches out and takes her hand, giving it a squeeze. "I really wish I could kiss you right now."

"Later." Aubrey winks at her. "We can get to that later."

* * *

And then, just like that, the summer is over.

Before Aubrey can even really process it, she's helping her campers pack up their suitcases and round up their shoes and shorts and socks and ensuring that they have everything they came with, plus all the lanyards and other various crafts they spent the past two months creating. Her kids are moping around and alternate between clinging to her and clinging to each other and bemoaning the fact that they aren't going to see each other again until next summer. Aubrey remembers how she felt on the last day of her first summer at camp, how she dreaded saying goodbye to Chloe and not being able to see her every day. It's a lot like how she feels right now.

Of course, things are different now. She doesn't have to rely on her parents to drive her to Chloe's and she doesn't have to wait for a letter to show up in the mailbox. But it's still not going to be the same as seeing her every day, even though Aubrey isn't dreading what's going to happen next anymore.

After the closing night bonfire (Aubrey is pretty sure that she's going to throw up if she even hears the word s'more ever again), Aubrey puts her campers to bed for the last time and ensures they're all fast asleep before she slips out of the cabin and goes to meet Chloe on the dock. Chloe is already there, her feet dangling over the edge of the dock and into the water below.

"What about snakes?" Aubrey questions as she comes to sit down beside Chloe.

"I'm not actually in the water." Chloe points out. "So I think I'll be safe."

Aubrey arches an eyebrow. "Or they could see your toes and think they're fish and-"

"Yeah right." Chloe rolls her eyes. "Snakes don't even eat fish. Don't be mean to me." But she takes her feet out of the water anyway. Just in case. "You can't be mean to me on our last night."

"You act like we're never going to see each other again." Aubrey points out. Though, to be honest, this has become a secret fear of hers. That, once they don't see each other everyday, Chloe will find her less charming or beautiful or worth spending time with and she'll lose her all over again. She's managed to keep from giving voice to that thought, as though talking about it will somehow make it real.

"I know." Chloe says with a sigh, resting her head on Aubrey's shoulder. "But still…I'm going to miss you." She reaches for Aubrey's hand and links their pinkies together. "I'm going to miss kissing you…"

Aubrey smirks. "Oh, is that what you're going to miss?" She questions. "Well, good to know."

Chloe gives her a kiss on the cheek. "Well, that's not the _only_ thing I'm going to miss." She assures her. "We still have three weeks before school starts though so…my car gets great gas mileage."

Aubrey grins. "Now that you mention it, so does mine. We should definitely make these visits a weekly thing."

"Or…a daily thing." Chloe suggests with a mischievous smile. "We could do that too."

Aubrey raises an eyebrow. "That's a lot of driving."

"Right. But how else am I going to do this?" Chloe leans forward and kisses Aubrey, slipping her hand through her hair and running her nails lightly against Aubrey's scalp.

Aubrey can't help that she shivers at Chloe's touch. And she can't help the groan that slips past her lips as Chloe nips on her bottom lip as she pulls away. "Not fair." Aubrey mumbles. "I forgot my point."

Chloe smiles at her. "Exactly." She pulls Aubrey in for another kiss.

Daily visits, yep. Aubrey can get behind that idea.

* * *

After the last of the campers have been claimed by their parents, Camp Twin Pines is silent in a way that it hasn't been since the first day that Aubrey arrived. Only now, instead of overhearing joyful reunions and hurried anecdotes, Aubrey hears desires of staying in touch and promises to visit. The words are similar to the ones that she and Chloe expressed last night but Aubrey hopes that their promises to keep in touch didn't sound as hollow and cliché as the ones she's over hearing now. If Aubrey has any say in the matter then she and Chloe won't fall out of touch again. Especially not now.

Aubrey puts her number straight into Chloe's phone as they stand next to their cars, trying to put off the inevitable departure for as long as possible. "Try not to lose it this time, okay?" Aubrey says with a smirk as she hands the phone back to Chloe.

"How am I going to lose it?" Chloe questions. "It's saved electronically. I got this." She assures Aubrey. Aubrey starts to argue that there are still ways that Chloe could lose her number but Chloe cuts her off. "Maybe I'll memorize it. Just to be on the safe side."

Chloe puts her phone safely into her pocket and then pulls Aubrey into a hug, wrapping her arms tightly around her shoulders and holding her close. Aubrey feels like she doesn't ever want to let go. She doesn't want to have to say goodbye to Chloe. She doesn't want to have to worry about this spell, this connection between them, being broken as soon as they leave the camp. And she knows that's stupid but she's a worrier, especially when it comes to things that matter to her. And right now, Chloe ranks pretty high up on that list.

There aren't many people around anymore to notice or care when Chloe kisses Aubrey but even if there were, neither of them would really care. The only regret Aubrey has about kissing Chloe is that it makes it even harder to actually separate from her.

"I'll see you soon, okay?" Chloe says with a smile. "Like really soon. So soon you won't even know I was gone."

"I doubt that." Aubrey remarks. "I'll definitely know that you were gone. But that sounds good. Soon." She gives Chloe another quick kiss, forcing herself to take a step toward her car.

Chloe gets into her own car and blows Aubrey a kiss when she notices the blonde watching her. Aubrey wishes that she knew how to explain the tightness in her chest and the lightness that she feels in her heart. It makes an interesting combination. Of course she doesn't want to be away from Chloe or have to say goodbye, but it still feels like a beginning, not an end and that makes her smile just a little bit.

Before Camp Twin Pines is even out of her rearview mirror, her phone chimes and Aubrey isn't surprised to see a text from Chloe. _1) Told you I wasn't going to lose your number. 2) I miss you already_.

Aubrey smiles and shakes her head. _You shouldn't text and drive_. Even though she's clearly a hypocrite in this situation. _And I miss you too_.

She's still smiling as she puts her phone aside and plugs in her iPod, continuing down the mountain road that will lead her back toward the city. She's too distracted to decide on any one album or artist, so she decides to just let it shuffle.

Aubrey doesn't know whether to laugh or cry when the song that comes on is "Dear Prudence." Instead, she just grins and turns up the volume as she starts to sing along.

**end. **


End file.
